Will the Northern Ireland elections finally end a relentless game of tug of war?

For this election, Sinn Fein have put down the rope and joined the crowd of onlookers watching the DUP tangle themselves in knots, writes Caolán Magee

The DUP have implied that they will not share power with nationalists (Getty Images)

In Northern Ireland, we live in a perpetual game of tug of war. On one side of the rope stands nationalists and republicans who pull in the direction of closer ties with the Republic of Ireland, with the eventual goal of a united Ireland. Unionists and loyalists stand on the other side of the rope, pulling in the direction of Britain, to solidify Northern Ireland’s status in the United Kingdom.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is because political decisions are taken in the context of the constitutional question, with little consideration given to whether these decisions will materially improve people’s lives.

An inch is given, a mile taken, before the rope cannot withstand the tension and it snaps. Republicans and loyalists fall into the mud and splash the onlookers of the sectarian spectacle. Historically, this came in the form of bombings and killings. Today, it comes in the form of assembly collapses.