What does the restoration of power-sharing mean for Northern Ireland?

With Sinn Fein only increasing in popularity and the shuttered Belfast government looking set to reconvene, the politics of Northern Ireland is transforming before our eyes. Though talk of a united Ireland may be a bridge too far, the effects are far-reaching and vital to understand, writes Sean O’Grady

Sinn Fein representatives MLA Conor Murphy, president Mary Lou McDonald and vice-president Michelle O’Neill speak to the media inside Stormont (EPA)

With fresh legislation to restore power-sharing to Northern Ireland being rushed through parliament with little resistance, a new government at Stormont could be formed by next week. It will, for the first time in the history of the province, be headed – at least symbolically – by someone who is an Irish republican, Michelle O’Neill, the vice president of Sinn Fein. It is another fascinating and perhaps portentous pact of recent historic developments. Just for a second, there appear to be grounds for optimism...

Does this mean that Sinn Fein now run Northern Ireland?

No – because of power-sharing no one community or political party can ever boss the others, and the principle of consent is central to the delicate machinery set up in the Belfast Good Friday Agreement back in 1998. The Unionists retain a veto, and the deputy first minister, presumably Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, will in effect be a co-first minister. Northern Ireland is thus unusual in the world in being a “duarchy” with the ultimate executive power shared by two figures with equal power, as well as a wide variety of parties being given ministerial roles – the Ulster Unionists, Alliance Party and Irish nationalist SDLP will also fill the government jobs. It’s rather like a government made up of a Tory premier, Labour deputy and with Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid and Greens all in the cabinet.