David Trimble's electoral fortunes got a boost yesterday when the Alliance Party announced it would withdraw its candidate in North Down to give Ulster Unionists a clear run against sitting anti-agreement MP Mr Robert McCartney.
Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, is expected to bolster the pro-agreement parties' campaigns when he visits the North later this week. With no date confirmed, it is possible that Mr Blair's visit might coincide with that of former US President Bill Clinton. While welcoming the Alliance Party's decision, Mr Trimble said he was not prepared to reciprocate the gesture and withdraw Ulster Unionists in favour of Alliance candidates in other constituencies.
"I welcome what they have done in North Down but exactly the same logic must be applied elsewhere, for example Strangford and South Antrim. The Ulster Unionist Party is the largest party in Northern Ireland. It is not in the interests of the Alliance Party to stand and deliver seats to people who are reactionaries," he said.
Mr Trimble rejected any possibility of withdrawing his party's East Belfast candidate, Mr Tim Lemon, describing him as an "excellent candidate".
The UUP's North Down candidate, Lady Sylvia Hermon, welcomed the Alliance decision, saying she had received much support on the doorstep from that party's traditional voters who had found themselves in a quandary about which pro-agreement candidate to support.
"It was a very brave decision to make and I noticed how many traditional Alliance voters had found themselves in the very difficult position of not wanting to waste their vote but were torn between party loyalty and another pro-agreement candidate," she said.
In the past the Alliance Party has polled between 5,000 and 7,500 in North Down. If these transferred to the UUP, the party would have a clear lead in the constituency.
Announcing his decision to stand down, the Alliance candidate, Mr Stephen Farry, insisted there had been no deal between his party and the Ulster Unionists but urged Alliance supporters to vote for Lady Sylvia.
Mr Farry said Alliance was a "fundamentally different party" from the UUP and had a "clear vision for a shared, non-sectarian Northern Ireland.
"However, in order to have the opportunity to put this vision into practice, the necessary framework - the agreement - must first be secured," he said. "This is not about asking people to vote for Ulster Unionism but to support the agreement."
The Alliance leader, Mr Sean Neeson, said his party had already stepped aside in a number of constituencies for the good of the agreement and urged the SDLP and UUP to follow suit.
Mr Neeson said in three constituencies - East Antrim, Lagan Valley and East Belfast, currently held by the DUP deputy leader - his party was the "strongest pro-agreement alternative".
"In East Belfast, in particular, there is a real opportunity for Alliance to unseat Peter Robinson - what a prize that would be. But the UUP candidate is a complete unknown. David Alderdice is the former Lord Mayor of Belfast," he said. The UUP were "condemning the people of East Belfast to four more years of Peter Robinson". Echoing Mr Trimble's appeal to Sinn Fein when his party decided to enter the power-sharing Executive, Mr Neeson said: "We've done our bit. Mr Trimble, Mr Hume, now it's over to you. We've jumped. You follow."
The sitting North Down MP, Mr Bob McCartney, said the Alliance Party had committed "electoral suicide" and consigned itself to a "very dismal future" by withdrawing from the battle for North Down.
He said the move would "dismay" many members. "The assumption that their votes are for sale or disposal at the behest of the Ulster Unionists will antagonise many of them who will either stay at home or vote for the SDLP." The decision would "simply galvanise" all anti-agreement voters.