Election results, Northern Ireland and more

 Full Northern Ireland results are in. 

27-SF
25-DUP
17-APNI
9-UUP
8-SDLP
4-others

With these results, there are 3 possible options.

1 - Return to the norm. This would see the basic structure of government outlined in the Good Friday Agreement. (AKA The "Agreement"). This simply means a new 5 party coalition, with a first minister and deputy first minister from Sf and the DUP respectively. 

2 - Remain broken. Before the election, there was no sitting executive. The DUP first minister had resigned. This, if it continued for some time (say, more than 6 months) could lead to more extensive negotiations. 

3 - A new agreement. This is what I expect. The parties, I think, are ready to talk now, and not wait. Exactly what will change remains to be seen, but I suspect the current double majority system will see an overhaul, if not be replaced by a qualified majority. I plan to address this further in a future post.

In Schleswig-Holstein the CDU appears to have been re-elected, with 34 of the 69 available seats, meaning it can drop a party from it's existing coalition with the FDP and Greens. The Greens took 14 seats, the SPD 12, the FDP 5, and the SSW took 4. I may expand more on this later.