The political crisis in Northern Ireland shows no signs of easing as attempts to form a working government failed again on Monday. For the second time since the May elections, the Northern Ireland Assembly was recalled to try and elect a new speaker.

The move failed after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refused to cooperate as part of its protest against the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol. Under assembly rules, no business can take place after an election until a new Speaker is elected – which needs cross-party support.

'A stunt'

The DUP's Paul Givan said the recall of the assembly has no credibility, calling it a stunt. "This isn't a serious attempt to restore the principles of power sharing and these institutions. It is a stunt," Givan said.

Sinn Fein accused the DUP of preventing other parties from working together. The party's deputy leader Michelle O'Neill said they will continue to try and make it work.

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"We will come back again, we will do this again because I am not giving up," O'Neill said after the meeting. "We believe in making this institution work and we still at this point call on the DUP to join with all the other parties that actually want to make politics work."

It is not possible to approve budgets in the absence of a functioning government, which is worrying at a time when inflation is high and the cost of living has been increasing.

Bitterly divided

The province has long been bitterly divided along religious lines – with a majority Protestant population in favor of Northern Ireland remaining within the UK and a Catholic minority keen to see the province reunited with the Republic of Ireland. 

After years of bloody conflict, in 1998 the Good Friday agreement saw a peace deal involving a power sharing agreement between the main unionist party, the DUP and the republican Sinn Fein party. 

For decades the DUP has been the largest party and held the presidency of the Assembly, with Sinn Fein holding the vice presidency.

But in a historic move in this year's election, Sinn Fein won a majority and looked set to take over the presidency. Another major change was the growth in vote for the non-sectarian Alliance Party.

Now the DUP has refused to cooperate which has left Northern Ireland without a functioning government.

Brexit and the Good Friday agreement

One of the key elements of the Good Friday agreement was to eliminate the border between north and south, with the free movement of people and goods between the two.

When the UK left the European Union, it gave up the free trade agreements, meaning customs checks are now needed at borders. However, a border between north and south would break the Good Friday Agreement and could lead to a return to violence.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal got around this by agreeing to a border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, thus avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland; this is the Northern Ireland protocol.

The unionist DUP bitterly opposes it, saying that it undermines the province's position in the UK. They also claim that it is harming the economy, although this is disputed. The majority in the Assembly, though, are in favor of the protocol, but would like to see it improved and work more efficiently.

Meanwhile, Johnson is threatening to introduce legislation that will allow the UK to override parts of the Brexit deal and do away with the protocol that he signed. Critics say this would breach international law and could lead to retaliation and a possible trade war with the EU.

The U.S. is also unhappy at the prospect, and this is something the UK government will need to consider as it has been angling for a trade deal with the U.S. to help boost the economy post Brexit, but the Biden administration has warned this will not happen if it jeopardizes the Good Friday agreement.

For now, there is no talk of suspending the Assembly and replacing it by direct rule from London.