The new Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, said today that she is in favor of a referendum on the unification of Ireland within the next ten years.
In her first interview since being elected to lead the British province's government on Saturday, she said her election as prime minister shows the change taking place on the island, Sky News reported.
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Michelle O'Neill (47) became Prime Minister after two years of political paralysis in Northern Ireland. She is the first Republican Prime Minister from Sinn Féin, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
According to her, Sinn Fein can share power with the ruling Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), although the Unionists are committed to keeping Northern Ireland within Great Britain.
"We can share power and make Northern Ireland stable, we can work together every day on public services and also pursue legitimate aspirations," she said.
A member of the DUP, Emma Little-Pengeli, was elected as the Deputy Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
When asked if she "expects a referendum on the unification of the islands in the next ten years", Michelle O'Neill, who is the vice-president of Sinn Féin, answered in the affirmative.
"Yes, I believe we are in a decade of opportunity. So many things are changing. It was unimaginable before that the prime minister of Northern Ireland would be a nationalist republican," she added.
For its part, the British government said it "sees no realistic prospect" of such a referendum and believes Northern Ireland's future is "guaranteed for decades to come" within the United Kingdom, according to a document published last Sunday.
Following her party's victory in the May 2022 election, the Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland was prevented from taking office due to a boycott of joint institutions by DUP members.
The DUP assessed the trade arrangements after Great Britain's withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit) as a threat to Northern Ireland's position within Great Britain. However, an agreement was reached with the British government on the issue last Sunday, allowing the Northern Ireland parliament to resume.
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