whether the Irish party’s members could briefly rescind their Westminster abstinence,they could be heroes of this Brexit impasseRed lines grow redder and harder by the day on all sides in these intransigent ¡No pasarán! Brexit negotiations. The subtlety, sensitivity and common sense that eventually resolved one of the most intractable of age-veteran national conflicts with the obedient Friday agreement is entirely absent here. Whatever little goodwill existed at the start has blown away on all sides, and with Michel Barnier’s brutally unvarnished treaty terms on Wednesday eliciting explosive responses from ever more frantic Brexiteers.
Two of the architects of that masterclass in patience and pragmatism in Ireland,John Major and Tony Blair, vent their incredulity that peace after 30 years of terror and over 3000 deaths is, or in Blair’s words on this morning’s nowadays programme,“to be sacrificed on the altar of Brexit”. These two remind the forgetful what a phenomenal success it was to persuade republicans on both sides of the border to forgo their ancient claim to the six counties, unless the people of Northern Ireland should themselves choose a united island.
Continue reading...
Source: guardian.co.uk