Northern Ireland is pitched into crisis by the resignation of Martin McGuinness

HOARSE of voice and frail in demeanour, the Martin McGuinness who announced his resignation from Northern Ireland's government on January 9th was a different figure to the strapping Irish Republican Army (IRA) commander that the public once knew. Mr McGuinness's transformation over the past few decades, from a member of a terrorist organisation to the region's second-most senior politician, exemplifies the change that Northern Ireland has undergone. Now his resignation from office'and, perhaps, permanent withdrawal from politics'has created a crisis in the region at a time when it already faces grave threats to its stability.The departure of Mr McGuinness, a member of Sinn Fein, was provoked by what he called 'the most crude and crass bigotry' of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), with which Sinn Fein shares power. In one year as first minister the DUP's leader, Arlene Foster, has proved to be a flinty head of government who, nationalists complain, shows little flexibility in her dealings with Mr McGuinness and others.The final straw came when it emerged that a green-energy initiative she organised as enterprise minister in...Continue reading
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