Rishi Sunak traveled to Belfast to sell his new Brexit deal and ended up unexpectedly congratulating Northern Irishmen for continuing to enjoy the "privileges" of the single market. "No one else is in this situation, only you here and that is the prize," declared the premier as he passed through a Coca Cola factory in Lisburn.
"I can tell you that when I travel the world, businessmen tell me: 'That's interesting,'" Sunak added, to the surprise of all and sundry. "This doesn't exist anywhere else. It's like we're in the most exciting part of the world economically." "If we get it right, if we implement the new deal and have a functioning government, Northern Ireland will be in a special and incredibly privileged position, having access to the UK's home market. United Kingdom, the fifth in the world, and the single market of the European Union", concluded the premier.
His scintillating comments caused quite a stir in London, led by Labor Stella Creasy: "The premier is extolling Northern Ireland's benefits of being in the single market and customs union, while denying those same benefits to the rest of the country. Do we have to remind the Brexit champions of the impact that denying those benefits is having to companies that are struggling to survive in the midst of the current economic crisis?"
"It's mortifying to see the Conservatives smack each other for reversing the damage caused by their disastrous (Brexit) deal," said Liberal Democrat Layal Morran.
The anti-Brexit campaign Best for Britain took advantage of the slip to emphasize Northern Ireland's "extremely privileged position" and explicitly asked the premier: "Why not extend that 'fantastic deal' to the rest of the country?"
Scottish National Party (SNP) spokesman for European Affairs, Alyn Smith, finally signed up for the bonfire, accusing Sunak of "moonlighting for stay" with his remarks. "Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU and in the end they have what they want," Smith said. "Scotland overwhelmingly rejected Brexit and yet has to live with its economic consequences day after day."
Among Eurosceptics in the Conservative Party, who on Monday overwhelmingly backed the deal, concern arose again over the prime minister's hypothetical plans to drag the entire UK into the single market, a possibility flatly denied by a Downing Street spokesman.
"People made a decision in 2016 (to vote in favor of Brexit) and we are seeing the benefits of that decision, such as changes in environmental laws and tax policy," the spokesperson stressed. "With regard to Northern Ireland, we are faced with the simple fact of respecting the Good Friday peace agreement and avoiding a return to the hard border on the island, which implies that Northern Ireland is in a unique position with access to the two markets".
In any case, Sunak's outbursts set the news tone of the day, above his attempts to overcome the resistance of the unionists to his pact with Brussels. The prime minister not only blabbed at the Coca Cola factory, but repeated the same arguments in an interview on BBC Radio 4, assuring that Northern Ireland is going to be "an incredibly attractive place to invest". for their access to both markets.
The controversy left his offensive against the unionists in the background to try to sell the so-called Windsor Framework Agreement, sealed the day before with the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to modify what until now was known as the Irish Protocol.
Sunak sent a very direct message to the unionists and warned that the agreement is above "any political party." The premier stressed that the Northern Irish "deserve and need a government that works", in reference to the blockade maintained by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to the formation of a unity Executive with Sinn Féin, precisely because of its frontal opposition to the Irish Protocol .
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson acknowledged that there had been progress on the new text, but warned that his party "continues to have some concerns", notably about the role of the Court of Justice of the EU and Northern Ireland's application of future community laws. The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) has not yet ruled and the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) has already expressed its opposition, considering that "there is still a border in the North Sea" with the new agreement.
Sunak has given the unionists "time and space", but at the same time has warned them that their patience has a limit and that the power vacuum is a threat to the peace process in Ulster, as has been made evident after the shooting last week in Omagh in which policeman John Caldwell, claimed by the New IRA, was wounded.
Sinn Féin, which first won elections in May 2022, has meanwhile hailed the deal with the EU as "a turning point" for Ulster. The vice-president of the Republican party, Michelle O'Neill, has called on unionists to put an end to the anomalous situation exacerbated by Brexit.
On his way through Belfast, Sunak assured that the agreement with the EU has also served to make up for "the democracy deficit" in Northern Ireland and stressed that the Stormont Assembly will now have "powers to block EU laws". , reduced to the "minimum necessary" to avoid a return to a hard border between the two Irelands.
"Goods will now be able to move freely on our territory, we have protected Northern Ireland's place in the union and Stormont will be able to apply the emergency brake on any new EU legislation, a powerful new measure that means that the Assembly and the Northern Irish are in control," insisted the premier.
Following his eventful journey, Sunak met the Conservative Party's Parliamentary Committee 1922 in London on Tuesday afternoon. The premier expressed his confidence that the DUP would end up backing the deal. "The last thing we need in Westminster is a new drama," Sunak went on to say, to the growing concern of his co-religionists.
A vast majority of the Tories, including notable eurosceptics, have so far given verbal support for the agreement, although they hope to be able to vote on the text in the coming days. Boris Johnson's absence at Sunak's stellar moment in Parliament once again triggered speculation, although the premier claimed to have spoken personally with him.
According to the PoliticsHome portal, Johnson would have sent a last message to the unionists of the DUP so that they examine the agreement "with caution". Sources close to the former president warned that he is still "studying" the text and "reflecting" on its content.
In view of the initial reaction of Parliament, Johnson ponders whether to bury the hatchet against his former Treasury secretary and taciturn antagonist, who has fostered a conciliatory approach to the EU in contrast to the direct confrontation of the last two years .
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