Irish Examiner view: First priority is the day-to-day needs of the people of the North 

First Minister Michelle O'Neill echoes the Sinn Féin president on the issue of Irish unity, but is emphasising more immediate concerns

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and British prime minister Rishi Sunak meeting at Parliament Buildings in Belfast, following the restoration of the powersharing executive. Picture: Government of Ireland/PA

As Leo Varadkar and Rishi Sunak yesterday attended Stormont to give official blessing to the re-establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly, it was talk of a united Ireland that continued to provide a backdrop to what was a step forward for Northern Ireland.

Sinn Féin used the Assembly’s return to re-declare that there would be a united Ireland within a decade. It is, according to Mary Lou McDonald, “within touching distance”.

The comments meant both our Taoiseach and the British prime minister were forced to try and divert questions back towards the return of governance in the North.

Mr Sunak said: “Northern Ireland’s politicians are back in charge, making decisions on behalf of their people, which is exactly how it should be,” adding the “real work starts now”.

The Taoiseach, meanwhile, stood next to first minister Michelle O’Neill and pledged support from the Irish Government for the institution and for the people of Northern Ireland.

History was made on Saturday, when Michelle O’Neill was elected to be the first Catholic and the first Sinn Féin leader to assume the position. Ms O’Neill stressed the inclusivity of the new administration and the need for inter-party rivalries to be waived.

While the new first minister stuck to the party line on the inevitability of Irish unity, her comments were noticeably more restrained than that of the party leader.

That she was more focused on the Assembly working to meet the day-to-day needs of the people of Northern Ireland, seemed to be more on point than those of the party president.

Her views were echoed by Mr Varadkar and Mr Sunak, both of whom maintained that, as the province’s politicians were now back in charge of Northern Ireland’s affairs, they needed to concentrate on the immediate rather than what lies further down the road.

What was apparent was the fact there was no joint press conference between the two leaders. It seems obvious the rift between the two governments, over Britain’s “legacy” legislation and accusations from Dublin of “negative language” about an all-Ireland economy in the agreement which brought the DUP back to the table, has not been productive.

The fact of the matter is that the Assembly is now back up and running and, for any future political advancement, that needs to be the case for the foreseeable future.

Paris votes for eco-policing of SUVs

In the past ten years the growth of the sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment has been nothing short of phenomenal and the motor industry has responded to growing public demand with a barrage of product which has changed the face of our roads, cities and towns.

Whatever critics might say, the buying public certainly loves them and, it appears, the bigger and more expensive they are, the better. Over the weekend, however, the denizens of Paris voted to triple parking costs for SUVs.

Although the turnout for the vote was small (only 5.7% of registered Parisian voters took part), the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, hailed the vote as “a form of social justice” and predicted other cities would soon follow suit.

She said the aim of the ballot was to target SUVs for reasons of air quality, road safety, and climate change. The aim, she maintains, was to deliberately target the richest drivers of expensive, heavy and polluting cars who had not made changes to their behaviour to address the climate crisis.

We should expect to see much more of this sort of punitive environmentalism in coming months and years in Europe.

Taylor Swift powers on as women sweep the Grammys

For once, a major awards ceremony — in this case, the Grammys, the music industry’s version of the Oscars — has firmly consolidated the contribution of female artists. 

Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, SZA (aka Solána Imani Rowe), Victoria Monét, Billie Eilish, Lainey Wilson, Coco Jones, Joni Mitchell, Kylie Minogue, and Boygenius (Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus) were all gong recipients at the music business’s big night out.

Not only did this highlight the growing influence of female performers, but it starkly put women in the vanguard of popular culture globally, emphasising a growing power extending beyond the tighter confines of their profession.

Tracy Chapman returning to the stage to perform her 1988 hit, ‘Fast Car’, was a standout moment that showed quality music is timeless. Her appreciation of the crowd’s reception was honest and pure and an antidote to some of the silliness of modern awards ceremonies.

It was Taylor Swift, however, who was once again the real star, breaking records with her fourth album of the year accolade, overtaking luminaries Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, and Frank Sinatra, all three-time winners of the award.

Sadly, Swift is now the target of darker forces. She is well known for her support of LGBT+ rights and is said to be politically aligned to Joe Biden and the Democratic party. Shrill Republicans fear she will back Biden in November’s presidential election.

Having recently forced ‘X’ to ban searches of her name due to deepfake, explicit images of her on the social media platform, Swift has shown she can move dials outside the pop sphere, forcing in places where nefarious interests prevail.

Even Fox News, the notoriously right-wing American broadcaster, which has consistently given airtime to celebrity supporters of election candidates, including Donald Trump, archly warned Swift to “stay away from politics”.

While she has thus far resisted any temptation to endorse any candidate, the chatter surrounding her intentions are indicative of just how much power Swift wields.