<div dir="ltr"><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><h1 class="gmail-post_title" style="font-family:Oswald;margin:18px 0px 10px;padding:0px;color:rgb(37,40,42);font-size:2.2em;line-height:33.88px;box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://www.foreignbrief.com/daily-news/northern-ireland-political-parties-resume-talks-to-form-government/" title="Northern Ireland political parties resume talks to form government" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:none;font-weight:lighter;font-style:inherit;font-size:30.8px;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(37,40,42);box-sizing:border-box">Northern Ireland political parties resume talks to form government</a></h1><ul class="gmail-post_details gmail-clearfix" style="list-style:none;padding:15px 0px 0px;margin:20px 0px 0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;float:none;border-top:1px solid rgb(233,233,233);color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Merriweather;font-size:14px"><li class="gmail-detail gmail-category" style="box-sizing:border-box;float:left;font-size:13px;font-weight:bold;background:url("images/icons/other/post_category.png") 0% 50% no-repeat transparent;padding:0px 0px 0px 20px;color:rgb(124,124,124);border:none;margin-right:20px;margin-bottom:5px">In <a href="https://www.foreignbrief.com/category/daily-news/" title="View all posts filed under Daily Brief" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:none;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(237,28,36)">Daily Brief</a></li><li class="gmail-detail gmail-date" style="box-sizing:border-box;float:left;font-size:13px;background-image:url("images/icons/other/post_date.png");color:rgb(124,124,124);border:none;padding:0px 0px 0px 20px;background-color:transparent;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:0% 50%;margin-right:20px;margin-bottom:5px;font-weight:bold">May 7, 2019</li><li class="gmail-detail gmail-author" style="box-sizing:border-box;float:left;font-size:13px;background-image:url("images/icons/other/post_author.png");background-color:transparent;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:0% 50%;border:none;padding:0px 0px 0px 20px;margin-right:20px;margin-bottom:5px;font-weight:bold;color:rgb(124,124,124)"><a class="gmail-author" href="https://www.foreignbrief.com/author/kai-loyens/" title="Kai Loyens" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:none;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(237,28,36)">Kai Loyens</a></li></ul><a class="gmail-post_image gmail-page_margin_top gmail-prettyPhoto" href="https://www.foreignbrief.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Wo27-NI-talks-1024x576.jpeg" title="Northern Ireland political parties resume talks to form government" style="margin:30px 0px 20px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:none;font-size:14px;font-family:Merriweather;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none;box-sizing:border-box;display:block"></a><div class="gmail-post_content gmail-page_margin_top_section gmail-clearfix" style="margin:10px 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:Merriweather;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div class="gmail-content_box gmail-full_width" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing:border-box;float:right;width:490px;min-height:0px"><div class="gmail-text" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-size:16px;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing:border-box"><div id="gmail-attachment_58996" class="gmail-wp-caption gmail-aligncenter" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:none;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-size:10px;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing:border-box;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;max-width:96%;text-align:right;width:1210px"><img class="gmail-size-full gmail-wp-image-58996" title="Wo27 NI talks" src="https://www.foreignbrief.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Wo27-NI-talks.jpeg" alt="Wo27 NI talks" width="1200" height="675" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: auto; max-width: 98.5%; height: auto; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 0.4s ease-in-out 0s;"><p id="gmail-caption-attachment-58996" class="gmail-wp-caption-text" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 4px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-size:11px;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(62,62,62);line-height:17px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both">Photo: Reuters</p></div><p style="margin:0px;padding:1em 0px 8px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(62,62,62);line-height:1.5em;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both">Coalition talks between Northern Ireland’s political parties are set to resume today as London seeks to break an 800-day <a href="https://www.foreignbrief.com/daily-news/divided-united-northern-ireland-votes/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:none;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(237,28,36);box-sizing:border-box">impasse</a> that has left the region without a functioning government.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:1em 0px 8px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(62,62,62);line-height:1.5em;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both">The previous government, a power-sharing coalition between the pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party and pro-Ireland Séin Fein, collapsed due to divisions over language policy and a botched green energy scheme for heating.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:1em 0px 8px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(62,62,62);line-height:1.5em;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both">Growing uncertainty over Brexit has exacerbated the situation. Both parties are expected to clash over the DUP’s critical role in Theresa May’s coalition government, particularly whether Westminster can be an independent mediator if talks remain protracted.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:1em 0px 8px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(62,62,62);line-height:1.5em;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both">Last month, DUP leader Arlene Foster repeated an offer to pursue a two-track approach: reopening a devolved government to provide essential services, whilst holding separate talks on more controversial issues such as language and same-sex marriage. <a href="https://www.foreignbrief.com/daily-news/uk-conservative-party-expected-to-lose-ground-in-local-elections/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:none;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(237,28,36);box-sizing:border-box">UK local elections</a> in the past week saw have been a catalyst for talks, leading to a slight rise in support for the DUP but steady support for Séin Fein.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:1em 0px 8px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(62,62,62);line-height:1.5em;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both">Therefore, both sides are expected to agree to resume essential services and form government, as the impasse continues to impact health, education and law enforcement services. However, talks on areas of disagreement do pose a risk to political stability over the medium-term.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:1em 0px 8px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(62,62,62);line-height:1.5em;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both"><strong style="color:rgb(0,0,0);box-sizing:border-box">Delve deeper: </strong><a href="https://www.foreignbrief.com/europe/trouble-northern-ireland-deadlock/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:none;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(237,28,36);box-sizing:border-box">Trouble in Ireland: Northern Ireland’s Political Deadlock</a></p></div></div></div> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies                     <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone:  (215) 898-7475<br>Fax:  (215) 573-2138                                      <br><br>Email:  <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a>    <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>