Poker game over border backstop plays into March

Britain’s politicians are rediscovering the art of co-operation, just as Ireland’s consensus faces its sternest test, writes

Poker game over border backstop plays into March

Britain’s politicians are rediscovering the art of co-operation, just as Ireland’s consensus faces its sternest test, writes Ruth McCarthy

Rarely has the contrast between the way Irish and British politicians approach Brexit appeared so stark.

Ever since the UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum, Irish politicians of all parties have come together to confront a common challenge, while in parts of the UK, the stresses of Brexit have shattered party discipline and the electorate’s tribal political loyalties.

The result has been a deadlock in Westminster and a splintering of both main parties — nearly a dozen MPs resigned from both Labour and the Conservatives this week to form a new independent group.

But behind the scenes, the political mismatch with London is slowly changing.

When Theresa May visited the Taoiseach in Dublin earlier this month, she did so with Westminster inching towards a Brexit consensus for the first time.

True, that consensus is modest. About the only thing MPs agree on is the need to avoid a chaotic, no-deal Brexit. Nevertheless, the Labour Party leadership is finally offering to support Ms May’s Brexit deal, in what Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell describes as a “very British compromise”. Ireland’s rock solid consensus faces its toughest challenge yet.

Within days of the UK’s 2016 vote, politicians across the Dáil had agreed to bury their differences and work together in the national interest — by mitigating the impact of Brexit on Ireland.

It’s a measure of their unity of purpose that the backstop — the insurance policy designed to prevent a hard border, whatever form Brexit takes — retains the support not only of a large majority of Irish voters but also of other EU leaders.

And it’s a measure of Dublin’s strategic skill that many other EU countries have come to see the

backstop as indivisible from the wider withdrawal agreement.

Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney have successfully positioned the backstop, not only as an Irish issue but as a fundamental EU demand that must be part of any Brexit deal.

The strong line has helped Dublin set the agenda in Brussels. But that strength may become a weakness as the threat of no deal increases.

The backstop — which faces the implacable opposition of the British government and its DUP coalition partners — has emerged as the biggest sticking point in negotiations between London and Brussels.

With neither side giving ground, and the Westminster government accused of deliberately running down the Brexit clock to strengthen its hand, Ireland is slowly being sucked into Britain’s high stakes poker game with the EU.

The conundrum is this: Ireland’s EU partners are committed to the backstop but they are also committed to avoiding a no-deal Brexit.

In the final countdown to the March 29 deadline, proponents of Brexit are hoping Europe’s second priority will trump the first. Dublin could then face pressure from other European capitals to accept an eleventh-hour compromise on the backstop.

Needless to say, such a prospect is fraught with political risk for the Irish government. But with the European Commission warning that it will insist on a hard border in the event of no deal, the Taoiseach could soon face an impossible paradox — sacrifice the backstop in order to save the deal, and thereby prevent a hard border, in the short term at least.

Other than the builders of border posts, I know of no sector of the Irish economy in favour of a hard border.

Even service industries like my own which doesn’t ship physical goods across the border would be hurt by the trade friction created by border checks, not to mention the danger that a hard border could unravel the Good Friday agreement.

The EU has a long tradition of cobbling together compromise deals at five minutes to midnight. The backstop remains the best guarantee that Ireland will not turn back the clock to a hard border.

Ireland’s politicians have successfully fought for it for more than two years, and their resolve must not waver in the final weeks.

- Ruth McCarthy is CEO of Fexco Corporate Payments

more courts articles

Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother
Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van
Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman

More in this section

FILE PHOTO The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has cleared the purchase of Goodbody Stockbrokers by AIB END Goodbody Stockbrokers fined over €1.2m by Central Bank over rules breaches
Nottingham City Centre Stock Irish staff at the Body Shop wait for wages as retailer shuts stores in the Republic
Ryanair comments on Norwegian Ryanair boss O'Leary's spat with Transport Minister over Dublin Airport escalates
IE logo
Devices


UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE IRISH EXAMINER FOR TEAMS AND ORGANISATIONS
FIND OUT MORE

The Business Hub
Newsletter

News and analysis on business, money and jobs from Munster and beyond by our expert team of business writers.

Sign up
ie logo
Puzzles Logo

Play digital puzzles like crosswords, sudoku and a variety of word games including the popular Word Wheel

Lunchtime News
Newsletter

Keep up with the stories of the day with our lunchtime news wrap.

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited