'Surprised, not shocked': What do the North's politicians make of the Sinn Féin surge?

Sinn Féin and the DUP could soon have a very different relationship. Image: Liam McBurney/PA Wire/PA Images Sinn Féin and the DUP could soon have a very different relationship. Image: Liam McBurney/PA Wire/PA Images SINN FÉIN IN power in the North might be far from a novelty, but that doesn’t mean that the prospect of the party leading the Irish government hasn’t attracted attention there.

The two parties – so used to dominating constituencies across the country – might well have been taken aback by the swell in support for Mary Lou McDonald’s party. McNulty credits Sinn Féin’s electoral machine for helping to deliver that success – a machine that encompasses a vast array of willing campaigners and a well-resourced campaign strategy.

“I think if you look at that exit poll it’s very clear that people were upset about domestic issues, they were obviously very upset about the housing crisis that there is in the Republic of Ireland, the health issues that were prominent and to the fore,” she said.“To a certain degree, I was surprised, even picking those social issues,” Elliott says.

Billy Hutchinson, the leader of the loyalist Progressive Unionist Party, thinks the result “says more about the two large parties than it does about Sinn Féin”.Hutchinson thinks Sinn Féin played the “social’ card”, focusing on issues like health and housing.

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