evidence: Northern Ireland’s 1.8 million people have been without a functioning administration for 2 1/2 years, ever since the Catholic-Protestant power-sharing government collapsed over a botched green-energy project. The rift soon widened over broader cultural and political issues separating Northern Ireland’s British unionists and Irish nationalists. [...] Critics say that gives the pro-Brexit DUP an oversized influence with the British government, unsettling the delicate balance of power in Northern Ireland. [...] DUP leader Arlene Foster played down the risk of a no-deal Brexit, saying Johnson is "focused on finding a deal and we’re here to help him find that deal."