The DUP proposals are still being discussed and analyzed in depth by the other parties, but it appears that neither of the two nationalist parties is prepared to run with the DUP’s “Devolution Now” document.
The SDLP said it won’t even discuss the proposals in detail until the DUP outlines its position on North-South all-Ireland relations, while Sinn Fein has described the proposals as merely a “negotiating position.”
The DUP proposals would mean a “weighted majority” in the Assembly could implement even the most controversial proposals, arguably giving the DUP a permanent veto.
The DUP is demanding a reduced-size Assembly, with the current six-seat constituencies reduced to four, returning 72 members. The DUP could expect, proportionally, to have more seats in such an Assembly.
A weighted majority of 70 percent, in a down-sized Assembly, would amount to 50 members. The DUP could confidently expect to have those 50 members, but Sinn Fein could only expect to return 24 in such circumstances.
That would give the DUP a permanent voting majority on even the most controversial questions, leaving nationalists in the SDLP and Sinn Fein in a permanent minority position.
The DUP has so far failed to bring forward proposals for the all-Ireland dimension to the agreement, only saying that any North-South dimension would be “accountable” to the Assembly.
As the Assembly would be controlled by unionists, as with all internal decisions, the nationalists said that would also leave them in a permanently impotent position.
The SDLP’s senior negotiator, Sean Farren, said his party was unwilling to get into talks with the DUP on its proposals until it had revealed its hand on North-South proposals.
“There can be no Assembly without strong and developed North-South cooperation, implementation bodies and a North-South ministerial council,” he said. “The agreement is not just about the Assembly and the Executive. It is also about North-South.
“For the last five years they [the DUP] tried to wreck North-South working and refused to attend North-South meetings. That is why in the review we want ministers to pledge to attend North South meetings.”
Sinn Fein’s chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, said that he suspected the DUP’s proposals contained a concealed mechanism to restore majority unionist rule, and that he did not accept that the party had signed up to proper power sharing.
Focusing on one of the DUP’s three models for devolution, mandatory coalition, McGuinness said he saw a potential booby trap as the DUP states that this ensures “ultimate power would rest with the Executive as opposed to the individual departments.”