Sinn Féin’s new NI leader: Changing the Northern guard

When Sinn Féin announced yesterday that Michelle O’Neill would succeed the forced-to-retire Martin McGuinnes as their North of Ireland leader, it created an unprecedented situation on — the leaders of the two main parties in parliament are women in their 40s — at least until the elections to the Northern Assembly are completed.

Ms O’Neill, who was 40 earlier this month, will lead Sinn Féin in the Stormont elections brought about by McGuinness’s resignation over what he described as First Minister Arlene Foster’s “arrogance” in the face of calls for her to temporarily step aside while an investigation was conducted.

These machinations brought a decade of power-sharing to an end and are unhelpful at best. They have the capacity to undermine, if not undo, a decade of committed work on normalising a society still deeply uneasy with itself, one facing the unknown consequences of Brexit.

Sunday night’s gun attack on policemen in Belfast confirms that ‘normalisation’ remains very much a work in progress.

Ms O’Neill’s appointment highlights a problem for Sinn Féin, one that will define it. As the generation directly involved in the Troubles moves from centre stage, does its new officer class have the presence, the aura, the grip on affairs their predecessors had?

Can they sustain “the project”? Will they sustain the rise of Sinn Féin or will the party fade way as McGuinness and Adams must. Only time will tell.