Northern Ireland has no functioning government right now, according to The New York Times. The first minister Peter Robinson resigned earlier this week and took his ministers with him.
This move has crippled the remaining government, which must share power between the two biggest parties by official mandate. This means one side can't do any business without the other.
Northern Ireland has been in turmoil since the Aug. 12 murder of Kevin McGuigan, a former IRA activist. The police blamed the Irish Republican Army, an announcement which infuriated the pro-British Unionists. The Sinn Fein party, formerly a political branch of the IRA, has maintained that the IRA no longer exists, The New York Times reported. The idea that the IRA may still be functioning is an incindiary topic in Ireland.
The government does technically still exist, for now. Before stepping down, Robinson appointed a temporary first minister. That means the government is in place, but not operating, according to Fox News. Britain Prime Minister David Cameron said he believes the two parties will get back to the negotiating table Monday.
"The power-sharing institutions are on the edge of the precipice," said Charlie Flanagan, Dublin's minister for foreign affairs and trade, according to Irish Central. The next general election in Ireland will be held before April 1 and could change the balance of power in Northern Ireland.
