it comes just a day after a gunman killed ten people in a suspected racially motivated terror attack at a supermarket in the city of buffalo. now on bbc news, dateline. hello and welcome to the programme, which brings together the foreign correspondents who write, blog and broadcast for audiences back home from the dateline london. it s been a convention busting week, this one a queen s speech delivered for the first time in 70 years by a royal other than the queen. two countries strictly neutral for 80 years, preparing to take sides. in northern ireland, a party in favour of reuniting the island of ireland topped the poll for the first time in the centuries since ireland was partitioned. to discuss all that and more, in the studio are brian 0 connell, former bureau chief in london for the irish broadcaster rte, eunice goes, portuguese journalist and university lecturer and newly created british citizen, and jeffrey kofman, who s been both a war correspondent and news anc
hello and welcome to the programme that brings together the foreign journalists who write, blog and broadcast to audiences back home from the dateline london. it s been a convention busting week, this one a queen s speech delivered for the first time in 70 years by a royal other than the queen. two countries strictly neutral for 80 years, preparing to take sides. in northern ireland, a party in favour of reuniting the island of ireland topped the poll for the first time in the centuries since ireland was partitioned. to discuss all that and more, in the studio are brian o connell, former bureau chief in london for the irish broadcaster rte, eunice goes, portuguesejournalist and university lecturer and newly created british citizen, and jeffrey kofman, who s been both a war correspondent and news anchor in canada and the united states. good to have you back with us. jeffrey, let s start with nato expansion. sweden and finland, finland s president, sauli niinisto, said on f
Of this leading to a push - to reunification and the exodus of northern ireland? is that realistic, or is that.? i because you could argue it s like the gordian knot. you can t untangle this, so you have to cut it. and you have. exactly. when alexander cut the gordian knot, he used a sword, he used a weapon. very good point. we ve tried that in northern ireland for 30 years. there s 3,000 people dead and many, many others living with this, so it s not going to work. what is that a scenario that comes out of this? i is this accelerating a scenario that some people many people would . like to see, but many would not like to see? well, sinn fein will tell you that but i the opinion polls in northern ireland do not indicate that a majority of people would vote for unification, yet. but what can change is the whole architecture of power sharing in northern ireland with, well, throwing away the constitutional arrangement that is in place. and there is essentially
As most of our audience isn t. it is so difficult to know . who s on what side and to understand the history. well, the history is actually easier than the present. i i remember turning up late for a story one day outside downing street. i think gerry adams was in there, and i said to a colleague of mine from northern ireland said, what s the story? he said, well, in 1690. so my my question is, is there so much disenchantment and the population is shifting in northern ireland. - yes. is this sowing the seeds.? what are the.? let me make it an open ended question. - what is the likelihood of this - leading to a push to reunification and the exodus of northern ireland? is that realistic or is that.? it s like the gordian knot. you can t untangle this, so you have to cut it. and you have exactly. when alexander cut the gordian knot, he used a sword. yes, he used a weapon.