DUP tell Sinn Fein to 'stop blaming everyone else for its own failures' - as republicans give mixed messages on Stormont stability
Sinn Fein needs to take responsibility for its own record in government, and stop trying to shift blame onto its political opponents, a DUP MLA has said.
Phillip Brett’s comments come after seemingly mixed messages from senior republicans in recent days in relation to the future of the power-sharing institutions.
SF national chair Declan Kearney had of “arrogance, sectarianism and economic illiteracy” - saying this had contributed to “political and economic instability”.
On Tuesday, finance minister John O’Dowd said the party has “no intentions” of collapsing Stormont, but warned of “genuine concerns about the behaviour and the stance of the DUP”.
Writing in today’s News Letter, Mr Brett has urged Sinn Fein to “stop talking up instability at Stormont and instead take responsibility for the consequences of its own political decisions”.
“Gavin Robinson has said we are not walking away from Stormont. We are there to make Northern Ireland work and to deliver for the people who elected us.
“The question therefore is why Sinn Fein appears so determined to talk up instability. The answer increasingly seems to be that instability and victimhood provide convenient cover when Sinn Fein’s own promises and policies run into reality.
“When the wheels come off a Sinn Fein policy, their instinct is invariably to find somebody else to blame. Blame the Brits. Blame unionists. Blame the DUP. Blame the institutions”, the North Belfast MLA said.
He cited SF’s backing for net-zero legislation and its impact on major infrastructure projects, and Liz Kimmins’s decision to block an inflationary fare increase despite Translink warning about budget challenges.
On Tuesday, Mr O’Dowd said the “position of the DUP over this last period of time has become increasingly difficult to work with”.
The Upper Bann MLA said: “But we turn up every day, we’re determined to make this place, the executive work – and to improve outcomes in terms of our public services and our economy”.
Asked on BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme about a warning from former Sinn Fein minister Conor Murphy that the wheels could fall off the executive, Mr O’Dowd said “anyone close to the political environment will be aware that there are concerns about the direction of travel” of the DUP.
He said the “approach” of his partners in government to the political institutions is presenting “difficulties” – and Mr Murphy was reflecting that in his comments.
Asked if the public should take Mr Murphy’s comments to mean there is a possibility the institutions could collapse before the election, the finance minister said: “For our part, we are determined to make the institutions work, to deliver for everyone out there.
“To create the opportunities that exist to build on the positivity of the Fleadh over the last week, nine days – and ensure that we as a society continue to move forward. And that we build good public services, we build prosperity and we have a society we can all be proud of”.
He added: “There is no intent, plan or otherwise by Sinn Fein to walk away from the institutions. We are determined to make them work despite the challenges and the difficulties that are presented by the make-up of the institutions and by the partners that are in government with us.
“Those are real challenges, there’s no question about that, It takes partnership to make the institutions work. But we are determined to make the institutions work and build a society where everyone has an equal and fair share in”, he said.