As of: February 9, 2024, 6:07 p.m
By: Sandra Kathe
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Northern Ireland's Prime Minister Michelle O'Neill and her party leader Mary Lou McDonald are planning a referendum on the reunification of the island before 2030.
Belfast/London – Scotland has been discussing a second independence referendum for years.
There are now signs of possible change for the north-west of the United Kingdom: Michelle O'Neill is the first politician from the Irish unity party Sinn Fein to take over the reins of government in Northern Ireland.
And her party colleague from the Republic of Ireland, Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald, emphasized that Irish unity was already “within reach”.
Sinn Fein achieved strong results in recent elections in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.
The party's goal is to hold a referendum to decide the island's political future.
The options for Northern Ireland are either to remain in the United Kingdom - since Brexit, all sorts of special rules have applied to Northern Ireland because of the border - or to reunify the island after more than a hundred years.
However, this request led to much bloodshed in the 20th century.
Sinn Fein politicians O'Neill and McDonald have announced that they will hold a referendum on the future of Ireland as quickly as possible.
© Ben Stansall/AFP
Plans to reunify Ireland: Sinn Fein sees change in society
The leader of the strengthened Sinn Fein party, which was previously seen as the political arm of the militant organization IRA, which fought for Irish unity with armed violence and terrorist attacks for decades, also believes reunification is possible based on the last election results.
“Politics, life and expectations have changed across the country,” McDonald said in an interview with
Sky
television, emphasizing her belief that an election result for a united Ireland was possible.
O'Neill, who is not only Northern Ireland's head of government but also the party's vice-president, also made it clear last week that there should be a referendum in the next ten years.
The outstanding decision on Ireland's political future is expressly foreseen in the Good Friday Agreement concluded in 1998.
At the same time, O'Neill also repeatedly publicly calls for mutual respect between positions that are still highly controversial in Northern Ireland.
Possible referendums in the United Kingdom: This is the role played by Brexit
The Protestant majority of people living in the regions in the north-east of the island traditionally favor remaining in the United Kingdom.
Large parts of Irish society, which is predominantly Catholic, have been rebelling against the British crown for a long time.
This led to Irish independence in 1921, while Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom.
Decades of tension followed, culminating in the violent conflict in Northern Ireland between the 1960s and 1990s.
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The fact that politicians – in Northern Ireland and Scotland – are giving a referendum on independence from the United Kingdom a chance today is also due to the economic and administrative consequences of Brexit.
In both Scotland and Northern Ireland, a majority of regions spoke out against leaving the EU.
(
saka with material from dpa
)