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Irish nationalists Sinn Fein would probably take power in Northern Ireland for the first time if there was an election today, outgoing DUP leader Edwin Poots warned today.
He used an exit interview to warn that the party 'probably would have the largest number of votes and seats as things stand', making its leader in Ulster Michelle O'Neill the first republican First Minister.
His comments come against a backdrop of serious unrest among unionists, with the Democratic Unionist Party itself fragmented for the first time in its 50-year history.
It is rallying against the Brexit deal agreed at the end of the last year which introduced customs checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea, to the fury of loyalists.
The power-sharing Stormont Assembly is at risk of collapsing over a deal to allow Irish language teaching in the province, something seen by Unionists as a step towards reunification of Ireland.
Speaking to BBC Ulster today, who was leader for just 21 days before being replaced by Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, said: 'I think if there was an election today - thankfully there isn't - it wouldn't be a good election for unionism.
'They (Sinn Fein) probably would have the largest number of votes and seats as things stand.'
An opinion poll for the Belfast Telegraph last month put Sinn Fein ahead on 25 per cent of first-preference votes if there was an election, with the DUP tied on 16 per cent with the non-sectarian Alliance.
