Irish Examiner view: Poots’ tirade a boon for all moderates

Those disturbed by Edwin Poot’s primal sabre-rattling may take comfort in the fact DUP support has fallen to 16%, nine points behind Sinn Féin.

The comfort that Ireland’s diplomats punch well above their weight is to be tested. Speaking after he was ratified as Democratic Unionist Party leader, Edwin Poots declared that Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney “were going to starve Northern Ireland people of medicines, no less, cancer drugs and other materials such as the food that’s on our table”. 

Warming to his divisive theme, he warned that relationships with Ireland are “really, really bad”.