This was a stitch-up. Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen had already bonded. It was clear that both of them wanted to put Brexit behind them and to move forward into what could, conceivably, be the sunlit uplands of a new relationship between Britain and the EU. But bringing King Charles into it and calling the deal the Windsor Framework was genius.
If the DUP, as the party of Ulster loyalism, says no to the Windsor Framework, it will be saying no to a deal to which the King has put his hand. It was Prince William, now the Prince of Wales and heir to his father’s throne, who gave Jeffrey Donaldson his knighthood at Buckingham Palace in 2016, making him a liegeman of the Monarch.
Will Donaldson now be handing it back in disgust? It seems unlikely. And what about Sammy Wilson, the combative and red-faced MP for East Antrim? Sammy may complain that Sunak has corralled the king into the party-political arena – but isn’t that what the DUP has always sought to do? If Wilson is loyal to the King, he should respect what has been achieved in his name today.
Donaldson and Wilson, and the rest of the DUP and unionist tribe, will find It awkward to reject this latest iteration of the Protocol. It addresses all of their seven tests, keeping Ulster as part of the United Kingdom while giving Northern Ireland businesses unique access to both the British and EU markets. What’s not to like? Scotland and London would jump at such an arrangement.
Yet do not misunderestimate the men in bowler hats. They may find it hard to say no, but it is not beyond them. Betrayal is their greatest fear, as it has been for unionists in Ireland since the Home Rule Bills of 1886 and 1914. They may make one more heave, playing the Orange card as if it was still the Ace and not the deuce. But though they may sometimes appear crazy, they are not in fact mad. The Windsor Framework, complete with its Stormont Break on what happens next, has to be as good as it gets. Just as important, it is what England expects.
Sometime in the next month, Donaldson could be installed as Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, working in tandem with Michelle O’Neill, the leader of Sinn Fein. If so – and he would have to resign his seat at Westminster – it will be a bitter pill for him to sit alongside an unrepentant apologist for the Provisional IRA. But if he does, he will do so with the King’s blessing. That is the card he should play.
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