Hain warns North's politicians on self-govt
The North’s politicians will have to decide during the next six months whether they want to open or keep closed the door to a new era of self-government, Peter Hain said today.
As Stomornt’s 108 Assembly members gathered for the first time in three and a half years, the Northern Ireland Secretary said he hoped unionists, nationalists and cross-community politicians would grab the prize of elevating politics on the world stage.
Mr Hain, who is also the Welsh Secretary, said: “The question facing Assembly members today is will they open the door for a new dawn of self-government? Will they make up their minds in time to open that door?
“Or will they close the door themselves on an Assembly, on salaries and allowances, will they tell their staff they are no longer required and will they be giving notice to the landlords at Stormont that they will not have jobs on November 24?”
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minster Tony Blair have given the Assembly until November 24 to form a power-sharing government.
Initially, it is expected that Assembly members will not be able to establish the multi-party government within six weeks of today.
But until they do, they will be expected to take part in debates at Stormont in a bid to lay the base of trust required for the Revered Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists to form a government featuring Sinn Féin.
The DUP has also warned Dublin and London that it will not form a government with Sinn Féin on or before November 24 unless it is convinced that paramilitarism and criminality by the IRA has ended for good.
