TheEconomistOctober 12th 2019 571F
ans approachingthe Oval football sta-
dium are greeted by a tall, dark-green
stand. From seats at the top, supporters of
Glentoran fcget a view of the gantry cranes
of Belfast’s shipyard. But the rest of the sta-
dium is much smaller, and at two ends
there are no stands at all, giving the ground
a peculiarly lopsided feel. The concrete is
chipped, parts of the stadium are rusting
and the crowd is occasionally drowned out
by a plane landing at the airport next door.
A banner provides a reminder of better
days: “Money can run out,” it proclaims,
above black and white images of local he-
roes, “but legends last for ever.”
If Northern Ireland had a government,
money might be more plentiful. Glentoran
had been awaiting ministerial approval for
a new £10m ($14m) stadium when the re-
gion’s devolved executive collapsed in Jan-
uary 2017. The stadium is one of a long list
of projects—from a north-south electricity
connection to the publication of genderpay-gap data—that have been put on hold
in the absence of ministers. The executive
was suspended after a precarious power-
sharing arrangement between the Demo-
cratic Unionist Party (dup) and Sinn Fein
fell through. Since then, various attempts
to bridge the gap have failed, with the par-
ties irreconcilable over issues including
gay marriage, abortion and the Irish lan-
guage. On October 6th the region reached
1,000 days without a government.
When countries like Belgium and the
Netherlands go without a government dur-
ing coalition negotiations, they appoint a
caretaker one, points out a recent report by
the Institute for Government (ifg), a Lon-
don-based think-tank. The same is not true
in Belfast. The lack of leadership comes at a
sensitive time, with Northern Ireland the
main sticking point in Brexit negotiations
(see next story). Cross-border institutions
established under the Good Friday peace
agreement in 1998 have been put out of ac-tion, impeding communication between
Northern Ireland and the Republic, says
Jess Sargeant of the ifg. Meanwhile, the ab-
sence of a government in Northern Ireland
has given the dupsomething of a monopo-
ly over the debate in Westminster, she
adds, since Sinn Fein mps don’t take their
seats on republican principle.
With the Stormont Assembly not oper-
ating, no legislation has been passed. The
British government has introduced new
laws only when essential, such as for bud-
gets. But Westminster’s backbenchers have
not been as reticent. In July mps hijacked a
piece of procedural legislation to add
amendments compelling Northern Ireland
to allow same-sex marriage, begin to legal-
ise abortion and to make payments to vic-
tims of the sectarian Troubles of 1968-98.
These changes will be imposed if the de-
volved government is not restored by Octo-
ber 21st, which few expect to happen.
Civil servants have had to be considera-
bly less bold. Last year the Northern Irish
high court overturned a plan to build an in-
cinerator on the edge of Belfast, on the ba-Northern IrelandThe place with no government
BELFAST
Problems mount as the region passes 1,000 days with no one at the helmBritain
58 TheBrexittalksfounder
59 Bagehot: Thatcherism todayAlso in this sectionWe’re hiring:The Economistis looking for a staff
correspondent to cover British politics. Journalistic
experience is not necessary. Please send a CV and
unpublished article of up to 600 words on British
politics to [email protected] by
November 3rd. More details can be found at
economist.com/britainjob