Northern Ireland: Brexit battle between politics and pragmatism
Balancing politics and pragmatism is nothing new in Northern Ireland but Brexit has brought it to a new level, says David Blevins.
Saturday 17 November 2018 08:33, UK
John Hume, the man described as the architect of the peace process, once said: "You can't eat a flag."
He often argued that bread and butter issues should take precedence over orange and green ones.
The battle between politics and pragmatism is nothing new in Northern Ireland but Brexit has brought it to a level not witnessed before.
At least 10 business organisations have now raised their heads above the parapet and tentatively welcomed the withdrawal agreement.
The NI Retail Consortium, NI Food and Drink, Manufacturing NI, Retail NI and the Freight Transport Association were first to say "yes".
For generations, the DUP has comfortably relied on the support of a significant section of Northern Ireland's farming community.
But the Ulster Farmers Union - representing 11,500 family farms - has called on the party to consider supporting the draft deal.
They said a "no-deal" Brexit would be "absolutely disastrous" for the agri-food and farming industry.
The CBI, Federation of Small Businesses NI, Institute of Directors NI and NI Chamber of Commerce were next to row behind the withdrawal agreement.
In a joint statement, they said: "While by no means perfect, it provides a platform to move onto the critical next stage and allows work to begin on the formulation of a comprehensive future trade deal."
They added: "We have been clear that a no-deal Brexit would be deeply damaging and would represent a very bad outcome for businesses, consumers and the economy as a whole."
It was always going to be the consequence of Brexit - the question of a border on the island of Ireland or in the Irish Sea, between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
For the DUP, on whose votes the Tories rely to remain in government, this is about the constitution.
It is important to remember that hundreds of police officers and soldiers died defending Northern Ireland's place in the UK.
But Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU and for many in this generation, this is about their livelihoods.
Support for the draft agreement has come from the most unlikely of sources in Northern Ireland.
Who could have envisaged Sinn Fein and the other pro-Remain parties backing the prime minister's plan and the DUP rejecting it?
People here did not want to choose between politics and pragmatism but they are being forced to.