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The former Minister of Health could become Prime Minister after the historic victory of the left-wing Republican Party, in favor of the reunification of Ireland, in the elections held on Thursday.
Michelle O’Neill does not have the notoriety of Mary Lou McDonald, the media president of Sinn Féin. So far, at least: Assured on Saturday, the historic success of the left-wing Republican Party in Thursday’s elections in Northern Ireland risks shining the spotlight on the 45-year-old leader, who is likely to become Prime Minister of the British province. This will be unprecedented: never, since its creation in 1921, has the small nation been dominated by nationalists, loyal to Dublin rather than to London and favorable to the reunification of the whole island.
For Michelle O’Neill, this is the culmination of a long political journey, which began when she joined Sinn Féin in 1998, the year of the signing of the Good Friday agreements, which put an end to the “Troubles”, the northern irish civil war…