Alan O’Reilly is a political activist based in London.
As Simon Harris, the new taoiseach, gets his feet under the table, the obvious question for many readers is what does it mean for the relationship between Britain and Ireland – and in particular, what does his leadership mean for the future relationship with Northern Ireland?
It wasn’t immediately clear where his priorities would be. While Harris has served in government in a range of roles over the last decade, these have primarily been in domestic facing ministries with little involvement in either foreign policy or Northern Irish policy.
However, while there were no major policy initiatives announced since he has taken over, he seems determined to improve the mood music. In interviews days before his election as taoiseach, Harris emphasised the need for stronger Anglo-Irish relations. In comments that were widely noted, he said:
“Good strong economic, social, personal and interpersonal relations with our nearest neighbour in the United Kingdom is always going to be a major, major part of Ireland’s diplomatic policy.”
Harris got off to a good start. One of his first calls was to Rishi Sunak, emphasising the need to enhance the stronger links between the two countries. He followed this up with calls to the first minister and deputy first minister of Northern Ireland. Harris seemed optimistic, saying that Anglo-Irish relations were in a “better place” than they had been over the past few years.
One of his first and most interesting shifts from his predecessor, Leo Varadkar, was around the question of future prospects for a united Ireland. Sinn Féin used the Northern Irish elections as a pretext to talk up its prospects; as taoiseach, Varadkar talked about seeing a united Ireland in his lifetime.
His successor has taken a much more circumspect. In an interview days before he took office, Harris spoke about a united Ireland being a “legitimate aspiration” – but not one he or his government see as a priority to be pursued in the short or medium term. This is a significant change in tone, and signals that Harris may be taking a more pragmatic and less ideological view of the Northern relationship.
He had the opportunity to expand on this in the early days of his tenure. In remarks to the British Irish parliamentary assembly, the Taoiseach spoke about the sometimes perceived lack of closeness between Dublin and Belfast. Harris, the 37-year-old, reminded those there that he was not old enough to vote in the Belfast Agreement, and that many in his generation are not focussed enough on Northern Ireland, saying that “people of his generation are more familiar with European capitals like Berlin and Paris than they are with Derry and Belfast”.
Interestingly he set out a view, not normally set out with such clarity, that not enough has been done to build on the peace process and create greater prosperity. Nevertheless, Harris was clear he felt more hopeful and optimistic about relations on and between the islands since the restoration of the executive.
It is still early days for the Harris Government, and he himself noted that there remains tension and challenges to be faced in the relationship. But the change in tone and approach seems to suggest an intention to refocus the relationship on strengthening economic and social ties across the islands, rather than picking at constitutional sores.