Stormont talks collapse. After over 400 days without a government in Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster announced that “significant gaps” continue to prevent a deal between the DUP and Sinn Féin to restore power-sharing. Michelle O’Neill claims her party had “reached an accommodation with the leadership of the DUP,” but there has been heavy speculation that the DUP leadership was unable to sell this ‘accommodation’, including on Irish language legislation, with the rest of the party. “Respect for the unionist and British identity has not been reciprocated,” the DUP leader warned. As questions mount on the sturdiness of her leadership, Arlene Foster has called on the UK government to take ministerial decisions on matters currently devolved to Northern Ireland.

 

Sinn Fein will meet with Irish and UK governments on the way forward. The party’s new president, Mary Lou McDonald, will hold separate meetings with Theresa May and Leo Varadkar during the week. She insists that direct rule from Westminster is “not an option.” The SDLP’s Colum Eastwood echoed this position. So far the British and Irish governments have not released any definitive statements on their respective positions on the way forward. Irish Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney, said the turn of events “was not expected and hugely disappointing”. The Secretary of State insists that a deal is still possible, but added that “challenging decisions will have to be taken by the UK government” in the absence of a restored Executive.

 

In Munich, Theresa May warned a global security conference that “ideology” must not get in the way of a security deal between the EU and UK. At the annual geopolitical summit the Prime Minister outlined that there should not be an ideologically-driven agenda when it comes to the prospect of security for the UK and its EU and NATO partners, stipulating that, “Europe’s security is our security.” She cited the fact that British troops are on the frontline against Russia in Estonia, which have just been pledged, as one example of ongoing cooperation. Perhaps the UK’s offer of commitment and collaboration to the EU on security and intelligence can help to strike a new pragmatic tone to the government’s broader Brexit policy.

 

Back in the UK, UKIP is on the search for its fifth leader in the space of just two years. Henry Bolton has been sacked as the party’s leader after just only five months in the position; a political scandal has engulfed UKIP and Bolton’s leadership after it emerged that Bolton’s former partner, Jo Marney, sent racist messages about Meghan Markle. UKIP’s national executive committee expressed no confidence in Bolton last month, triggering the ballot of party members that ultimately resulted in Bolton being defeated by 867 votes against and 500 for. After the vote, he said he “feared the result would see UKIP ‘taken off the battlefield’ of British politics for months.” It’s a view apparently shared by former Leader Nigel Farage, who argued that “for all his faults,” removing Bolton would hasten UKIP’s path to “irrelevance.”

 

In South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa has replaced Jacob Zuma as the country’s president. Jacob Zuma had been forced to resign the office of President due to continuing intra-party pressure from the ANC over numerous corruption allegations. Ramaphosa has pledged a “new dawn” for South Africa, but added that “tough decisions” will be needed because of its stagnating economy and large national debt. “We are determined to build a society defined by decency and integrity, that does not tolerate the plunder of public resources, nor the theft by corporate criminals of the hard-earned savings of ordinary people,” the new president vowed. Opposition leader Mmusi Maimane called for “bolder action,” complaining, “I heard more of the same stuff.” In contrast, Julius Malema, head of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters party, said he would give the new leader “the benefit of the doubt.”