Article from the June 2007 issue of the Socialist
newspaper of the Socialist Party, Irish section of the CWI

Will the Assembly make a difference?

Ciaran Mulholand

The government of Northern Ireland is once again in the hands of the local political parties. A new Executive is up and running, dominated by Sinn Fein and the DUP. The fact that Sinn Fein and the DUP have come together is trumpeted by many commentators, and the British and Irish governments, as a turning point.

The argument is that if the "extremes" are in government, there is no one left outside to stir up trouble and to bring the Executive down. The presence of the DUP and Sinn Fein around the Executive table provides the cement which will make it work this time around.

The DUP and in particular Sinn Fein have committed themselves to making the Executive work for now. Both parties are seeking to avoid major confrontations at this time. Both parties are however based on sectarian division and sectarian squabbling is never far away.

When torrential rain led to flooding in Belfast on 12 June the Executive provided a paltry £5 million in aid to householders. This move was immediately met with grumbling about which community gained more. Every issue, especially issues around imminent cuts in the public sector, will become mired in the same sectarian quicksand.

Every time the Executive closes a school, for example, sectarian politicians will not stand up to oppose all school closures but will instead argue the case for "our" school to stay open, if necessary at the expense of "their" school.

The analysis that says we are on the threshold of a new era of stability and prosperity is profoundly wrong. The Assembly and the Executive will always be shaky structures, full of contradictions and prone to collapse. The main parties are based on sectarian division and are united only in their support for neo-liberal policies.

There are undoubtedly fewer sectarian attacks and clashes than several years ago. In part this is because the paramilitary groups who encouraged and organised many of the attacks have pulled back, eager to get their share of the spoils of peace. It is partly because Sinn Fein and the DUP have no interest in street confrontation at the present time. In the main it is because of a reaction in working class communities to the almost continuous sectarian clashes of the late 1990s and the first few years of this century.

None of this means however that sectarian division has lessened. There are more peace lines now than at the time of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and a majority of the population now lives in highly segregated areas.

The first political crisis, for example a sharp division within the Executive over a contentious parade this summer, could bring the whole edifice crashing down. It is more likely however that it will stumble on for a period, perhaps even a prolonged period, but the reality of sectarian division on the ground will intrude into the corridors of power again and again. The result will be an Executive divided and unable to function at times of crisis. Not exactly a recipe for stability.