Former DUP first minister Peter Robinson has broken his political silence to accuse the "more belligerent elements in Sinn Féin" of precipitating an unnecessary Northern Assembly election on Thursday.
As 1,254,709 registered voters in the North decide how and whether to vote, Mr Robinson posted a blog stating that Sinn Féin had chosen to “force an election”.
The fresh Assembly election was triggered by the decision of Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness to step down as deputy first minister over the renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme controversy.
In a Facebook post which was also carried on the Slugger O'Toole website, Mr Robinson argued that, despite the RHI scheme debacle, the election was avoidable.
He also warned that the devolved powersharing institutions at Stormont were now under serious threat.
“I cannot help feeling, no matter what now will be said, that had Martin McGuinness been in good health a breakdown would have been avoided.
“As it is, the more belligerent elements in Sinn Féin have seized their opportunity and are seeking to advance their agenda regardless of imperilling the political structures,” he said.
In the post, Mr Robinson said that the “level of peace and stability that has characterised recent years was hard won and involved years of difficult work and endless negotiations.
“There is still so much more to achieve and some distance to travel on our journey towards fully-functioning democratic structures and genuine reconciliation, but we should not lose sight of that goal,” he said.
“The consequences of regression are many and may well be catastrophic.
“It must, therefore, be the duty of each of our elected representatives to embrace that essential value also enshrined in the Hippocratic oath - primum non nocere (first, do no harm).”
Mr Robinson admitted to viewing life from a unionist prospective, but said he “still cannot fathom how an election at this time . . . given the higher and wider considerations, was justifiable.
“There is no question that mistakes were made with the renewable heat scheme - that much everyone agrees - but throughout the world mistakes are made by politicians and government officials without it amounting to a crisis with the potential of bringing down the political institutions.
“The proper role of the [Northern] Executive [in relation to the RHI scheme] was to put in place corrective cost-control measures and initiate a thorough enquiry to ensure that lessons are learned and failings are identified, documented and published,” he said.
“If culpability and claims of wrongdoing at any level are sustained, then the enquiry judge should recommend sanctions as appropriate.
“These steps have been taken and that should have been the beginning and end of the action plan to deal with the crisis until the enquiry reports.
“There was never a need for an election, nor were the people who live here ever going to derive any benefit from it. The argument that, ‘It’s time for the people to have their say on these matters’, is bogus.
“The time for people to have their say would have been after the public enquiry had published its report and all the facts were known and independently evaluated without spin, hype or sensationalism.
“Instead, we have had an increasingly fractious contest that has further divided and limited the ability to rebuild the political institutions.”
‘Harsh treatment’
Mr Robinson said that DUP leader Arlene Foster has been "harshly treated" over recent weeks.
“You can be sure that when the public enquiry is completed, and suggestions of wrongdoing are found to be groundless, the media will not fill their programmes and columns with apologies and the self-serving politicians in Sinn Féin, the SDLP, UUP and Alliance who have directed thinly-disguised accusations of corruption against her will fall silent.
“Such is the injustice of modern-day politics.”
Mr Robinson also backed Ms Foster's warnings about the possibility of Sinn Féin emerging as the largest party after Thursday's vote, and also pointed "to the increasing role of Gerry Adams as the puppet-master.
"For many unionists, the thought of Sinn Féin tricolour-waving victory cavalcades touring the country and Adams crossing the globe purporting to speak for Northern Ireland will be enough to bring them out to the polls and vote for the DUP, who alone can keep the top position for unionism.
“For me, the prime concern is that as the largest party Sinn Féin would have a significantly enhanced influence with government in future negotiations.”
The former DUP leader said that, based on the “scale” of the negotiations Sinn Féin was seeking to initiate after the election, it was almost inevitable that Stormont would be suspended and British direct rule restored.
“Sinn Féin, by calling the election and setting out their agenda, have made this election into one of constitutional importance and provided an imperative for a high unionist turn-out,” he said.
Mr Robinson said the “election has pushed parties further apart, and if over the next few weeks parties retain a list of red-line demands inflated by electoral enthusiasm it will be impossible to reach agreement in either the short- or medium-term.
“The structures, however imperfect, are all that stand between Northern Ireland and political isolation and impotence. While the election is unstoppable, the headlong rush into destruction is not.
“Parties need to take care that the positions they are adopting do not close off sensible options.
“They should step back, take a breath and ensure there is sufficient space for an agreement to be reached in the calmer times that follow the hustings.”
