Steve McGookinDUP faces defining moment as it chooses new leader
It has been a hugely significant week all across British politics, with another of similar drama to come. At the moment widely regarded by historians as the actual anniversary of the founding of Northern Ireland, local politics finally have a Game of Thrones vibe, as they adjust to the ouster of DUP leader and First Minister Arlene Foster.
While the DUP’s agriculture minister Edwin Poots emerged as the early favourite to become party leader – and has apparently said he would not wish to also be First Minister – there is speculation that Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will announce his candidacy on Monday. A contested leadership election – the first in the party’s history – among its limited selectorate of MLAs, MPs and Peers, will take place later this month.
Away from the perpetual political pantomime, there was a significant step in the lives of real people in NI, when it was announced that applications for the long-awaited “Troubles Pension” would begin on June 30th. The scheme could cost £1.2bn over 20 years.
Voters in Scotland are into the final few days of campaigning ahead of Thursday’s elections to the parliament at Holyrood, where a comfortable SNP victory would likely put pressure on Westminster over another independence referendum, even if it’s still an unresolved issue in Scotland itself; to say nothing of the possibility of an independent Scotland rejoining the EU.
Meanwhile, there are also local council elections in England and Wales, as well as for Mayor of London, where maybe the closest-watched candidacy is this guy:
Political polls notwithstanding, problems continue to intensify around Downing Street itself, with barely a day passing now where Prime Minister Boris Johnson is not embroiled in some scandal of varying seriousness, usually to do with money.
Just this weekend, for example, in order to distract from reports that the PM apparently thinks he needs to be earning almost a thousand pounds a day just to “keep his head above water,” it was suddenly announced that Britain is planning to buy the richest person in the country a yacht. That went down exactly as you might expect.
See Also:
Selecting A DUP Leader: Uncharted And Uncomfortable Waters
Rethinking: Mandatory Coalition
Northern Ireland: What’s The Problem?
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Covid highlights rich/poor divide
The situation in India continues to worsen as the country announced a record number of Covid-related deaths – a fourth straight day with more than 3,000 fatalities – as well as almost 400,000 new cases. The latest numbers came as results started to emerge from local elections, which have been blamed for spreading the virus.
Meanwhile, as the US announced it would restrict travel from India starting on Tuesday, new reported cases worldwide have been exceeding 800,000 per day for the past week, with South American countries particularly badly hit. There are also fears in Africa that a new Covid wave could overwhelm the continent’s fragile health systems.
Altogether, there is a real sense that the world is increasingly dividing into rich and poor nations when it comes to dealing with the pandemic.
The UK government said it had ordered an extra 60 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as it prepares for an autumn booster programme.
Here in Northern Ireland, many businesses reopened at various levels this week and as the vaccine rollout continues, with close to a million people having been vaccinated, there are encouraging signs of progress.
See Also:
Catching Your Breath: Lobbying For Lung Health In The Time Of Covid-19
Leaders Need To Lead: The Executive and Covid-19
Life Is Harder Right Now. We Should Be Kinder To Ourselves
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Biden lays out bold programme
As their administration passed its 100-day mark, US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris are setting out to sell America on their ambitious policy agenda.
As Mother Jones reports, the latest poll numbers show that it turns out “Americans like a normal, boring president.” The Republicans, on the other hand, are struggling with a leadership vacuum as they remain tethered to the ex-president, while grasping for ways to attack the new incumbent, all with eyes on the crucial 2022 midterms.
Biden’s next hundred days are going to be a lot harder.
See Also:
On Eve Of 100 Days, Biden Offers Bold Agenda
After Trump, What Lies Ahead For The GOP?
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Israel mourns disaster deaths
Israel held a day of national mourning on Sunday after one of the country’s worst disasters. Forty-five people were crushed to death on Friday at an ultra-orthodox religious pilgrimage near Mount Meron, attended by an estimated 100,000 people.
The victims were aged from 9 to 65, while sixteen of the more than 150 people hospitalized were still in hospital on Sunday evening. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose term officially expires on Wednesday after the inconclusive election in March, said there would be an official investigation.
See Also:
Could Israel Bid Farewell To Bibi?
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Man Utd game postponed after protests
Sunday’s Premier League game between Manchester United and Liverpool – one of the biggest fixtures in football – was postponed after several hundred people invaded the stadium. More than a thousand United fans had gathered outside Old Trafford ahead of the arrival of the two teams to protest against the Glazer family, owners of the club.
The fans who got inside and onto the pitch threw coloured flares into the stands before they were eventually dispersed by mounted police. A number of officers were reported to have been injured.
BBC Sport’s Simon Stone writes that “emotions have been simmering for 16 years” over the Glazer family’s stewardship of the club and events surrounding the recent aborted European Super League plans have heightened the frustration of fans, who are now demanding that the club be sold.
Announcing the postponement of the game, the Premier League said an alternative date for the fixture has not been arranged.
There was also a social media boycott across football and other sports this weekend, to take action against racist and other abuse online.
Elsewhere, some other fans were equally annoyed, or rather, “underwhelmed” as was the trending description on Twitter, after the Line of Duty finale.
See Also:
Tackling Sectarianism In Football Head-On
Football Wins (May 2019)
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