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Quick stock-taking thread:
An awful lot of local and international politics meeting on this island at the moment (from my pov living in Republic):
1) Tensions in NI, due to a few things colliding, including Brexit/protocol, loss of confidence in police, and loyalist alienation
An awful lot of local and international politics meeting on this island at the moment (from my pov living in Republic):
1) Tensions in NI, due to a few things colliding, including Brexit/protocol, loss of confidence in police, and loyalist alienation
2/
2) Collapse of Stormont or worse the GFA not out of question, according to some Unionist commentators, see @AlexKane221b
3) HMG in London appears to have seen riots in NI mainly as potentially useful for pressuring EU on protocol, or at least to blame EU for problems.
2) Collapse of Stormont or worse the GFA not out of question, according to some Unionist commentators, see @AlexKane221b
3) HMG in London appears to have seen riots in NI mainly as potentially useful for pressuring EU on protocol, or at least to blame EU for problems.
3/
4) Dublin has a few relationships to manage simultaneously, with parties in NI, with London, and with the rest EU. Not easy.
5) IRL relations with Unionists v low, and not great with HMG which has ignored IRL calls for bilateral summit to bring NI political players together
4) Dublin has a few relationships to manage simultaneously, with parties in NI, with London, and with the rest EU. Not easy.
5) IRL relations with Unionists v low, and not great with HMG which has ignored IRL calls for bilateral summit to bring NI political players together
4/
6) IRL also working with EU to smoothen protocol, and EU has dropped legal case. But there remains a complete lack of trust in HMG, which has delayed protocol flexibility
7) EU is also conscious of how relations with UK play out with other European neighbours and at WTO
END
6) IRL also working with EU to smoothen protocol, and EU has dropped legal case. But there remains a complete lack of trust in HMG, which has delayed protocol flexibility
7) EU is also conscious of how relations with UK play out with other European neighbours and at WTO
END
5/ PS
I omitted one important aspect of internal UK Brexit politics, to align with the EU on SPS or not?
It would help remove around 90% of protocol-related checks, and GB agri-food exports.
But some object due to hard Brexit ideology or fears it would harm trade deal with US
I omitted one important aspect of internal UK Brexit politics, to align with the EU on SPS or not?
It would help remove around 90% of protocol-related checks, and GB agri-food exports.
But some object due to hard Brexit ideology or fears it would harm trade deal with US
