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Refusing to return to Stormont 'will not strengthen the cause of unionism', says PM Bill Clinton and Rishi Sunak at Queen's University Belfast Rishi Sunak again issued his strong warning to DUP leaders over their refusal to restore power-sharing arrangements in Northern Ireland, insisting that boycotting Stormont would hurt the cause of unionism.
In a speech at Queen's University Belfast, the prime minister urged the DUP to accept the "decisive moment" of its post-Brexit compromise deal with the EU and return to government with Sinn Fein.
"I want to speak directly with the representatives of trade unionism," declared the Prime Minister. "I urge you to work with us to get Stormont up and running again. It's the right thing to do on its own terms. And I'm convinced it's the right thing to do for our union as well. I'm a proud union member.
Sunak said the fact that Stormont's institutions have been "broken" for nine of the 25 years since the historic Good Friday Agreement "should be cause for deep concern."
The Prime Minister added: “In the long run, this will not strengthen the cause of trade unionism. I deeply believe in that. Therefore, we must make institutions operational and keep them operational.
Sunak said today's leaders should look "and be inspired" by the Good Friday Agreement reached 25 years ago to fulfill the promise of "stable decentralized government" for the province.
The former American president Bill Clinton used his own speeches at the Queen's University conference to support the compromise agreement of M. Sunak on the Northern Ireland protocol and exhort the DUP to "remettre le spectacle sur road".
He told the audience, along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, that the Windsor deal "seems to me anyway, as a foreigner who cares a lot, like the best deal you can get to divide the baby".
Clinton said this would give the province the advantages of accessing both European markets and the UK market, describing it as "the best of both worlds". But he cautioned that "it doesn't matter how good the business is... what really matters is how long it keeps people's imagination and trust."
Former US President Bill Clinton speaking at the Belfast conference
Referring to the deadlock in Stormont's institutions, Clinton said "it's time to get this show going" and said the Good Friday Agreement was "never intended to be used to ensure that there could be no self-government."
Ms von der Leyen told the conference that the Windsor agreement on post-Brexit trade deals was a "fresh start for old friends", urging the leaders to have "the same wisdom and vision as the leaders of 'Southern Ireland'. North have already demonstrated in the last 25 years'. years".
Ms von der Leyen spoke warmly of former DUP leader Ian Paisley and his journey from opposing the Good Friday Agreement to sharing power with Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness less than 10 years later.
Heaton-Harris used her speech on Tuesday to urge the DUP to follow the lead of the late Paisley and have the "courage" to return to Stormont. “True leadership is knowing when to say yes and having the courage to do it,” he said.
Akshata Murthy, Rishi Sunak, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
But it drew a defiant reaction from DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who responded by saying unionists would not be "beaten" into returning to Stormont as he was still concerned about Sunak's Brexit deal.
"The great and the good can lecture us all they want for cheap applause, but that won't change the political reality," Sir Jeffrey said, though he said he had a "good exchange" with Clinton in Belfast earlier. this week. .
And DUP MP Gavin Robinson said Mr Heaton-Harris's comments sounded "more like a speech by an ignorant Irish-American congressman" while the DUP MP "wouldn't bow down to presidents and prime ministers". .
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson says he won't take courses from 'great and good'
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar was applauded when he told the conference on Wednesday that the people of Northern Ireland deserved a functioning assembly.
"It is now up to Northern Ireland's political leaders to take the lead," he said. "To take control of your history, take control of your destiny, and lead your people into the future."
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told the conference that the UK and the EU "need each other more than ever" and called the Good Friday Agreement a "powerful symbol of what our shared values can achieve".
Clinton expressed optimism that the political impasse could be broken after her meeting with the DUP leader on Tuesday. "I came out of this meeting more optimistic than I went into it," he told the BBC.
There is speculation that Sir Jeffrey could accept the return after local elections in Northern Ireland on May 18, but the party is said to be keen to continue campaigning on its hardline anti-protocol stance for the next month.
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