Faulkner Splits

For the first time in half a century of domination over Ulster politics, Northern Ireland's Unionist Party appeared last week to be irrevocably split. Only four days after Brian Faulkner, leader of the party, was sworn in as Chief Executive of Ulster's new coalition government, militant Unionist members voted to oppose the Council of Ireland agreement worked out last month between Northern Ireland, Britain and the Irish Republic. The Unionists' Protestant hard-liners viewed the agreement, which calls for regular consultations between Belfast and Dublin, as the first step toward merger with the predominantly Catholic South.

In response to the stinging vote of no confidence, Faulkner walked out of the Unionist Party. He vowed to remain at the helm of the coalition between Protestants and Catholics and to stump the province on behalf of the Council of Ireland agreement. "If I am the only person left on the floor of the Assembly arguing for our present policies, I will continue to do so," he said. "I've been through more politics in the last few days than ever before in my life."

At 52, Faulkner is one of the wiliest practitioners of Irish politics, and a fairly recent convert to the moderates. As Prime Minister in 1971, he took a tough line against the Irish Republican Army, which resulted in harsh crackdowns on the Catholic community and the ruthless policy of interning suspected terrorists. Those tactics led to a complete breakdown in security and the assumption of direct rule by Britain. Last spring, however, Faulkner campaigned for a new constitution calling for power-sharing between the majority Protestants and minority Catholics. The measure passed, and led to the formation of an eleven-man coalition Executive to rule Northern Ireland. It was after the coalition was created that the Council of Ireland agreement was drawn up to smooth out relations between the province and the republic.

Since then both Protestant and Catholic extremists have vowed to wreck the new government. Faulkner seemed well prepared for the showdown. When he moved out of party headquarters last week, he took with him photographed copies of all documents, $16,000 in political funds raised earlier under his own name, and half the staff. "We are leaving behind a pretty bankrupt lot," said an aide. "All they will have left is the building and the furniture." Technically Faulkner retains his Unionist membership, but 17 Unionist members of the Assembly have remained loyal to him, and he could form his own party. For the moment, he seems content to remain a Unionist in name and Chief Executive in fact.

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