In the regional parliament elections in March 2007, the DUP (30.1%) and Sinn Féin (26.2%) emerged as the winners. Under the pressure of a British ultimatum (the threat of the complete dissolution of the self-governing institutions), the two formerly warring parties agreed to form a government. On May 8, 2007, I. Paisley (DUP) was sworn in as First Minister and M. McGuinness (Sinn Féin) as his deputy. With the formation of the all-party government, Northern Irish self-government, suspended in 2002, was restored.
Fragile governments and terrorist attacks
At the end of July 2007, according to programingplease, the British military operation in Northern Ireland, which had been ongoing since 1969 (“Operation Banner”), ended. In June 2008, Paisley resigned from Fr. Robinson from, who also took over the chairmanship of the DUP in May 2008 and previously served as finance minister. However, the parity government of the DUP and Sinn Féin remained practically unable to work. The cabinet did not meet in the second half of the year due to fierce controversy over the organization of the powers of the police and the judiciary in the autonomous province. The government crisis was accompanied by a flare-up of political violence on both the Catholic-Republican and Protestant-Unionist sides. In early March 2009 there were two fatal attacks on security forces. Two IRA splinter groups, the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA, claimed responsibility for the attacks on two British soldiers and a police officer. With the exception of the Protestant UUP, on March 9, 2010 all parties in the Northern Irish regional parliament to a police and judicial reform. The transfer of responsibility for the police and the judiciary marked the end of the gradual transfer of administrative sovereignty to Northern Ireland that was initiated after the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. However, the province experienced terrorist attacks and politically motivated acts of violence throughout 2010. An attempt to solve previous crimes committed by the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) led to riots in Belfast in October 2010. In November 2010, radical factions of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombed again. gradual transfer of administrative sovereignty to Northern Ireland. However, the province experienced terrorist attacks and politically motivated acts of violence throughout 2010. An attempt to solve previous crimes committed by the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) led to riots in Belfast in October 2010. In November 2010, radical factions of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombed again. gradual transfer of administrative sovereignty to Northern Ireland. However, the province experienced terrorist attacks and politically motivated acts of violence throughout 2010. An attempt to solve previous crimes committed by the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) led to riots in Belfast in October 2010. In November 2010, radical factions of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombed again.
With 30% of the votes, the DUP was able to maintain its position as the strongest party in the elections on May 5, 2011. Sinn Féin received 26.9% of the vote. On May 12, 2011, Fr. Robinson was confirmed as First Minister by Parliament. After the Belfast City Council decided in early December 2012 to hoist the British flag at City Hall only on special occasions, protests by pro-British loyalists erupted, which escalated into violent riots during the month. The flag dispute also led to riots in 2013. The traditional Protestant marches, which the Catholics perceived as provocative, remained a further controversial issue. May 2014 resulted in the temporary arrest of G. Adams (President of Sinn Féin) on political tension. He was accused of being the mastermind behind the kidnapping and murder of an alleged British spy in 1972. Leading Sinn Féin politicians criticized the arrest as politically motivated and threatened consequences for the peace process.
After the murder of a former member of the IRA in Belfast in 2015, a serious government crisis developed as the police linked the so-called Provisional IRA with the murder and suspected that the IRA organization, which had actually been dissolved, was still in existence. Because of this, the First Minister P. Robinson called for the Northern Irish Parliament to be suspended. After Robinson’s government partner Sinn Féin refused, he announced his resignation on September 10, 2015 and handed over his office to Finance Minister A. Foster. The other DUP ministers also resigned. After mediation efforts by the British and Irish governments that led to an understanding with Sinn Féin, Robinson returned and the ministers returned to their posts on October 20, 2015. In November 2015, Robinson announced his intention to step down from chairmanship of the DUP and step down as First Minister. Her successor in the party chairmanship (on December 17, 2015) and as head of government (on January 11, 2016) was A. Foster. This was the first time that a woman became the head of the Northern Irish executive. Elections to the Northern Irish Regional Assembly took place on May 5, 2016. The DUP remained the strongest party with 29.2% of the votes and 38 seats. Sinn Féin received 24% of the votes and 28 seats. A. Foster came under public criticism in 2016 because of a subsidy scandal for renewable energies. In this regard, M. McGuinness stated resigned as deputy head of government on January 9, 2017. Since his party refused to appoint a successor in due time and thus continue the government alliance, the British Northern Ireland Ministry scheduled a new election for the regional parliament on March 2, 2017. The DUP won 28.1% of the votes and 28 mandates, Sinn Féin 27.9% of the votes and 27 mandates.
