FIRST MINISTER Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness are due to engage in talks with the other party leaders today and tomorrow to determine if agreement can be reached to elect a new executive on Thursday.
Moves to appoint an executive headed by Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness, who met briefly yesterday, are complicated by whether Independent unionist David McClarty can be persuaded to rejoin the Ulster Unionist Party, the party which deselected him at local level in East Derry.
At the Coleraine Council count centre yesterday, where he was also returned to the council, Mr McClarty said he needed “time to recharge the batteries” before making a decision.
If he returns to the UUP it will be entitled to two ministries in the executive. If he remains Independent the UUP will drop to one ministry and Alliance will gain a ministry under the d’Hondt proportional system of appointing ministers.
David Ford is also expected to be returned as minister for justice in the new executive, a post that is created outside the d’Hondt system.
Another complicating factor is the continuing fallout from UUP leader Tom Elliott’s labelling of Sinn Féin supporters as “scum” and his reference to the Tricolour as the flag of a “foreign nation”. He still refused to withdraw the comments yesterday.
Mr McClarty, who sees himself as on the liberal wing of the UUP, described as “extremely unfortunate” Mr Elliott’s remarks.
“It is not a brand of unionism I would support or promote,” he said.
Meanwhile, the negotiations to sort out how the executive portfolios will be shared begins in earnest today. Mr Robinson has already made clear that as the DUP has the first choice of department, it will take the department of finance and personnel. After winning 38 seats it can take four seats on the executive.
Under d’Hondt Sinn Féin will have second choice. Yesterday neither Mr McGuinness nor party president Gerry Adams would be drawn on which department Sinn Féin will first choose. After winning 29 seats it will take three ministries.
There is speculation that Sinn Féin might opt for the department of enterprise, trade and industry whose outgoing minister is Arlene Foster of the DUP.
This would allow Sinn Féin to focus on an all-island economic agenda.
If Sinn Féin opts for an economic ministry then it is expected the DUP, which would have the next choice, would take education.
Part of the current discussions are about who should be the new assembly speaker. The DUP is expected to nominate outgoing speaker William Hay.
Mr McGuinness would not be specific about whether Sinn Féin would accept the return of Mr Hay or propose one of its members. “Symbolically it would be significant [to have a Sinn Féin speaker] but what we will do is sit down like sensible politicians and we will work out how we intend to take this forward. I don’t envisage any real difficulty,” he said.
Meanwhile, there is considerable internal discussion and discontent within the UUP and the SDLP, which each dropped two seats in the assembly elections, winning 16 and 14 seats respectively.
Questions are being raised about the leaderships of Mr Elliott and Margaret Ritchie but so far no senior party member has called for either to resign.
