The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister held a series of private meetings with the Ulster Unionist Party, Sinn Fein and the SDLP in Downing Street yesterday in an attempt to come to terms with the new political configuration in Northern Ireland. In preliminaries to what could be the most important round of negotiations in the history of the Belfast Agreement, over the next ten days, they were anxious to assess the fall-out from the recent elections and, more importantly, to identify a way forward. Wisely, Mr Ahern and Mr Blair had little to say publicly afterwards.
The post-election mood in Northern Ireland was best captured by the Deputy First Mallon, Mr Seamus Mallon, however, when he warned the two leaders that the peace process was "in very big trouble" unless the outstanding issues of decommissioning, policing and de-militarisation were sorted out. The First Minister, Mr David Trimble, said that he had advised his party to back the Northern Ireland administration on the basis of Republican promises that weapons would be put beyond use. Those promises had not been kept and "speaking personally, my patience is at an end on this issue", he declared.
The president of Sinn Fein, Mr Gerry Adams, suggested that the British Government and the Ulster Unionist Party had to accept they were part of the problem before they could play a part in the solution. "All of these issues can be resolved and with goodwill all of these issues will be resolved", he said. "Can these be resolved between now and July 1st? I would imagine not", Mr Adams added.
The preliminary round of talks with the main pro-Agreement parties in London yesterday offers little on the surface to move the process forward. The same problems which have bedevilled the Agreement since its ratification - decommissioning, policing, demilitarisation and the consequent ban on Sinn Fein Ministers attending meetings of the North/South Council - are still there today. Mr Adams's musings, in this context, are scarcely urgent or helpful: "This is the way that history is made. Coming to meetings, back and forth, tedious and slow and arduous".
That path has been trodden by the moderate pro-Agreement parties since May 6th last year when the IRA first promised to put arms independently and verifiably beyond use under the supervision of two international inspectors. But nothing substantial has been delivered. The time for action - not verbiage - has come.
Mr Trimble will attend the annual meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council next Saturday where his fate will rest in the hands of disappointed delegates. He may be challenged for the leadership. There is general acceptance that he will be compelled to resign as First Minister just over a week later if there is no movement on decommissioning by July 1st. In one of the great ironies of Northern politics, his future is now in the hands of the IRA.
Mr Gerry Adams indicates that he would like Mr Trimble to continue as leader. Mr Adams, of all the Northern party leaders in London yesterday, has a stronger mandate from the electorate. He has surpassed the SDLP for the first time in Westminster elections and is nine seats behind them in the local elections. If he is serious about the future of the Belfast Agreement - which he claims as the Sinn Fein project - he must know that he has responsibilities as well as rights. The time has come to discharge them. A move on decommissioning will unlock the door to progress for all.