Northern Ireland: The Brexit problem that will not go away

It's a year since Britain's PM, Boris Johnson, confidently led his nation over the precipice for what was popularly dubbed a hard Brexit.

Just over a year after Brexit became a practical reality, the Northern Ireland Assembly is in crisis after its First Minister resigned in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit deal. Ireland's Europe Minister Thomas Byrne tells FRANCE 24 the departure of Paul Givan "has caused deep difficulties within the government system in Northern Ireland", and that the situation is "very very worrying".

Northern Ireland voters go to the polls today (May 5) in what could be the most important election in a generation. They will elect the 90 members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, from which a power-sharing executive should be formed. These institutions were created by the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement. According to opinion polls, Sinn Fein - representing mostly people of Catholic and Irish background - could become the largest party for the first time.

Is it a sign that Northern Ireland is ready to overcome old divides, or of new troubles ahead? For the first time ever, Unionists could find themselves in the minority when ballots are counted in regional assembly elections. Under the Good Friday Agreement, the DUP would still share power with Sinn Fein, who could trigger a referendum on a united Ireland.

After a historic election victory, Sinn Fein is ready to pick Northern Ireland's first minister, but the DUP says it will not form a power-sharing government as long a post-Brexit trade agreement stays in place.

Enter the twilight of the world's longest reign. The 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth II missed what is arguably the highlight of any British monarch's calendar: the reading of the government's parliamentary program instead delivered by her son, the crown prince. The importance is mostly symbolic, since the Queen's Speech is written by the prime minister. However the optics of the exercise beget the question: what United Kingdom will Charles inherit?

Britain said it would "not shy away from taking action" over post-Brexit trade tensions in Northern Ireland as it rejected EU proposals to resolve the standoff.

Boris Johnson has again threatened to break post-Brexit agreements with the EU as victorious Sinn Fein accuses him of pandering to the DUP, which is blocking the formation of a government after recent elections.

Brussels has said a British proposal to effectively override parts of a Brexit deal with a new law is "not acceptable." The UK has proposed a new law to drop part of the Brexit agreement on Northern Ireland trade.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has written an opinion piece with her Irish counterpart in a British paper, saying the UK was "not engaging in good faith" with its plans to change the Northern Ireland protocol.

In a tumultuous week for British politics, European Union lawmakers continue to call on Westminster to resume post-Brexit talks. German-British MEP David McAllister is chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and closely involved in Brexit-related issues on the EU side.

Boris Johnson is soon to leave Downing Street for the last time. According to a recent Ipsos survey, the British public rank him as the country's worst performing postwar leader. Johnson will be forever remembered as one of the men behind Brexit and as a PM who attended illegal parties at Downing Street during lockdown. But some Conservatives are already nostalgic for the leader they affectionately call "Boris". FRANCE 24's Julien Sauvaget and Clovis Casali report from across the UK on Johnson's divisive legacy.