Michelle O'Neill is the leader of the country's new government, on behalf of Sinn Féin, a nationalist political party. Advocates of leaving the UK and the EU.
The Northern Irish Parliament on Saturday appointed nationalist Michelle O'Neill as the new Prime Minister. Moreover, the rise of a Sinn Féin representative to power represents a page in the history of that country.
The Democratic Unionist Party's boycott of the government lasted two years, and ended after this political force reached an agreement with the UK government, led by Rishi Sunak, to ease trade frictions linked to Brexit.
“This is a day that marks a new dawn,” O'Neill said in his first words as government leader in the Assembly. “I will serve everyone equally and will be a prime minister for everyone,” she confirmed, quoted by Reuters.
She herself advocates Irish reunification, i.e. the union of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, along with the departure of the United Kingdom and the European Union.
It should be noted that the conflict between nationalists (advocates of a united Northern Ireland) and unionists (pro-British) has been going on for decades. The country's political model changed significantly with the election of O'Neill, who reiterated that he regretted “all the lives lost during the conflict, without exception.”
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