(Bloomberg) -- Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party which props up Boris Johnson’s government, said Dublin should “get real” in its approach to Brexit, as the British prime minister visits Northern Ireland on the latest leg of his nationwide tour. The pound, battered by Johnson’s escalating no-deal rhetoric, halted its decline in early trading.Must read: U.K.’s Johnson Won’t Back Down on Brexit Despite Plunging PoundKey Developments:Johnson meeting Northern Irish politicians as he tries to get parties to restore devolved institutionsJohnson plans to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on hospitals and health care technology, in an attempt to deliver on the most contentious of the Brexit referendum pledgesPound rises 0.1%, though it’s still down 4% this monthBrexit Changing Minds on Unification: Sinn Fein (8:30 a.m.)Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said Brexit is changing minds in Northern Ireland on the issue of a united Ireland, and said the U.K. must lay out what it sees as the threshold for a so-called border poll or referendum on unification.“Brexit has raised fundamental questions around the wisdom and sustainability of the partition of our island,” McDonald told BBC Radio 4, adding that even some unionists are willing to have the conversation on unification. “It’s changed the entire political dynamic.”McDonald said she wishes Britain wasn’t leaving the European Union, referring to it as a “piece of astonishing political and economic self-harm.”“If you are democratically intent on it, who are we to stop you?” she said. “But you can’t wreck Ireland in the process.”Earlier, Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster said there’s “no evidence” of demand for a border poll in Northern Ireland.Foster Says Dublin Must ‘Get Real’ (7:40 a.m.)Arlene Foster, leader of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, said Boris Johnson is focused on getting a Brexit deal and it’s time for the government in Dublin to “get real.”She had dinner with Johnson on Tuesday evening. They didn’t discuss the confidence and supply agreement, which sets out the terms of the DUP’s support for the minority Conservative government. They did discuss Brexit, she said in an interview with ITV.Foster is not in favor of a no-deal exit, but said the EU’s attempt to divide Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom is unacceptable. The DUP opposes the so-called backstop, which aims to prevent a border with the Republic of Ireland but keeps the U.K. tied to EU rules. Johnson has vowed to rip it up.Johnson is also trying to get the parties in Northern Ireland to restore the devolved assembly and executive, which have been suspended since 2017. But Brexit, and the DUP’s relationship with the Conservative government, are obstacles, according to the other main Northern Irish party Sinn Fein.Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill said the relationship between the DUP and the U.K. government is “toxic” and that Brexit is being “foisted upon us.” “The British government are playing fast and loose with our peace process,” she told ITV.Adults Needed: Smurfit CEO (7:30 a.m.)The CEO of Smurfit, an Irish paper and packaging maker, is hoping the “adults will take over and make sure” there’s a Brexit deal.“It’s a really important issue for us that there is a deal,” CEO Tony Smurfit told Bloomberg TV.Earlier:Sterling’s Slump May Not Sow Seeds of Economic Upswing This TimeJohnson Aims to Meet Brexit Bus Pledge With Health-Care BoostTo contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;Stuart Biggs in London at sbiggs3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma Ross-Thomas at erossthomas@bloomberg.net, ;David Merritt at dmerritt1@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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