The Five Demands

Il concorrente alla successione di Sir Reg Empey alla guida dell’UUP chiede una modifica all’Accordo di St. Andrews per impedire l’assalto di Martin McGuinness alla carica di Primo Ministro dell’Irlanda del Nord dopo le elezioni in seno all’Assembly del prossimo anno

Tom Elliot, in lizza insieme al solo Basil McCrea alla presidenza dell’Ulster Unionist Party, ha chiarito al Segretario di Stato Owen Patterson che quanto stabilito in tema elettorale dall’Accordo di St. Andrews “è un’assoluta follia”.
Secondo l’accordo infatti, il partito con la maggioranza dei seggi dell’Assembly ha il diritto di prendere il posto di Primo Ministro, ed attualmente ad aver guadagnato la pole positione tra i partiti è lo Sinn Féin. In poche parole alle prossime elezioni di maggio 2011, Martin McGuinness ‘correrebbe il rischio’ di essere nominato Primo Ministro dell’Irlanda del Nord.
“Compito iniziale della mia presidenza sarà trattare questo argomento  come una questione d’urgenza e e l’attuale governo a Westminster sa che ha l’obbligo di sostenermi”.
Elliot ha accusato il DUP di aver studiato a proprio vantaggio questo punto dell’Accordo di S. Andrews “per ricattare permanentemente gli elettori unionisti perchè gli garantiscano un supporto tale da mantere il partito quale il maggiore in seno all’Assembly”.
“Se il Sinn Féin si confermerà come il più grande partito all’Assembly il prossimo anno e ci troveremo di fronte a Martin McGuinness come primo ministro dell’Irlanda del Nord, la colpa sarà del DUP e di nessun altro”.

Related Articles

• McCrea enters UUP leadership fray (bbc.co.uk)
• Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey to step down next month (guardian.co.uk)

MLA calls for change to St Andrews accord (Irish Times)
Ulster Unionist Party leadership candidate Tom Elliott has demanded a change in the law in order to prevent Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness being in a position to become first minister after next year’s Assembly elections.
Mr Elliott, launching his campaign to succeed Sir Reg Empey as UUP leader in Antrim yesterday, also ruled out uniting with the DUP to create a single unionist party, and said the link with the British Conservative Party was over. “No more UCUNF [Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force],” he said.
The Fermanagh-South Tyrone Assembly member will contest the leadership on September 22nd when Sir Reg steps down. So far there is only one other candidate, Basil McCrea, an MLA for Lagan Valley.
Under the St Andrews Agreement, the party with the most Assembly seats is entitled to take the first minister post, and Sinn Féin currently is in pole position to be the biggest party after next May’s election.
Mr Elliott said he had made clear to Northern Secretary Owen Paterson the “absolute folly” of this rule. “Initially my leadership will seek to deal with this issue as a matter of urgency and the present government at Westminster knows that it has an obligation to support me,” he added.
He blamed the DUP for changing the rules at St Andrews because it had mistakenly believed it would be to the party’s advantage.
“The DUP’s foolish and reckless actions at St Andrews were specifically designed to blackmail unionist voters into permanently supporting that party to prop them up as the largest Assembly party,” he said.
“Well, it’s obvious this DUP plan was as well thought out as their decision to invite Jim Allister back into a senior party position!
“If Sinn Féin is returned as the largest party to the Assembly next year and we are faced with Martin McGuinness as first minister of Northern Ireland, the blame for that lies squarely with the DUP and no one else,” Mr Elliott said.
He said he had heard DUP calls for unionist unity. “If they mean a single party, my answer is clear and simple. You will not see it under my leadership and I cannot see it in my own lifetime. This would only create polarisation and a further reduction in unionist votes,” he added.