Editorial: Simon Coveney's remarks show the problem in unionists accepting the EU deal

​The dilemma that unionism has faced in recent years is apparent in something that Simon Coveney has just said in a BBC interview.

​The Fine Gael politician was controversial with unionists because, like his party colleague and one-time Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, he was seen as being at the helm of the greening of mainstream Irish politics towards the UK after Brexit.

Mr Coveney, like Mr Varadkar, ended up being so partisan that both lectured unionists on how Northern Ireland had to grant republicans their long-term goal of an Irish language act.

They insisted upon a legacy process that has ended up destroying the reputation of the British security forces who prevented civil war, while IRA terrorists somehow escape scrutiny. But above all that pair seemed to jettison Fine Gael from any sense of it being a party that generally wanted to stay on good terms with the UK with their uncompromising approach to the Irish land border after Brexit. It must not change they said, and sure enough the border moved to the Irish Sea.

Now Mr Coveney has implied that unionists “for the most part” accepted the outcome on the Irish Sea border.

It is true that the politics of trade became massively complicated for NI after Brexit. It is also true that the DUP was put in an intolerable position, pressured for eight years to accept some form of Irish Sea border, which at times it almost did.

However, the party did make a serious mistake in saying in January that the Irish Sea border had been removed. This gave unionists false hope, after what has been the biggest constitutional setback in a century.

It is one thing to say we were unable to stop this. Quite another to say that it was in fact stopped. It has allowed Mr Coveney to make the claims that he does, and it could make the EU, US and others think that there is little that unionists will ultimately oppose.