News / Politics

Paul Givan told to ‘resign’ following Edwin Poots departure

Saturday, 19 June 2021 5:56 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 19 June 2021 5:56 PM ]

Paul Givan's political career has been torpedoed by DUP officers

The internal turmoil of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) shows no sign of abating after Paul Givan was effectively forced to resign his position as Northern Ireland First Minister.

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Givan was reportedly informed of the news by DUP officers after Edwin Poots resigned as party leader.

Poots, who only replaced deposed leader Arlene Foster last month, is the DUP’s shortest-serving leader after only 21 days in office.

And now his close friend Givan – who was given the post by Poots – has the dubious distinction of being both the youngest and shortest-serving Northern Ireland First Minister.

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Poots was brought down as a result of his weak and erratic leadership style, as demonstrated by his dithering approach on the all-important issue of Irish language legislation.

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The man tipped to succeed Poots as DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, plans to revert to tradition by becoming First Minister as part of a broader strategy to restore stability to the crisis-ridden party.

Donaldson, who leads the DUP in the House of Commons in his capacity as the MP for the Lagan Valley constituency, ran against Poots for the overall leadership of the party last month but was narrowly defeated.

The intense turmoil within the DUP has even elicited a reaction from the Irish government in Dublin.

Speaking to Irish national broadcaster RTÉ, Irish Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney, expressed hope that the DUP will put in place a new leader “quickly” with a view to restoring stability to the incendiary political situation in British-controlled Northern Ireland.