Northern Ireland’s leaders have made history by looking to the future

Michelle O’Neill’s appointment as the first minister shows that the power of hope can sometimes win through in politics, writes John Rentoul

Michelle O’Neill in Stormont on Saturday: it took a great deal for the DUP to accept a Sinn Fein first minister (PA Wire)

At the eighth attempt, the Democratic Unionist Party, the party of “No” and “Never”, finally said “Yes”. The Northern Ireland assembly elected a speaker, which meant that devolved government was back in business. Seven times since the assembly was suspended two years ago, the DUP said “No”. Today it nominated Edwin Poots, who had briefly been its leader during the party’s post-Brexit turmoil, as the impartial chair of the assembly.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson introduced the day’s momentous events by declaring: “While we do not forget our past, we also look to our future.”

There is never any chance in the politics of Northern Ireland of any of the participants forgetting their past. All the speeches today referred to it, but they also, finally, looked to the future.