NEXT week's planned Anglo-Irish summit was thrown into serious doubt last night as British and Irish officials continued their desperate efforts to agree a joint communique.
The British Prime Minister's domestic crisis over the Scott Report has also continued to overshadow the ongoing Anglo-Irish negotiations.
The meeting of the Anglo Irish liaison group of officials, scheduled for London yesterday, was postponed because the British government was not ready to respond to Irish draft documents forwarded earlier this week.
The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, had a 15 minute telephone conversation with Mr Major yesterday, in which his anxiety about the postponement of the officials' meeting was expressed.
Mr Major will face a confidence vote if he is defeated in Monday's crucial Commons debate on the Arms for Iraq affair. And it emerged last night that, under House of Commons rules, this might take place on Wednesday, and not Tuesday, as was first thought.
It was confirmed last night that London and Dublin have not yet agreed the crucial issue of an elective process as a route to all parts negotiations. And The Irish Timed was told there is now "a serious doubt" as to whether the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister will be able to proceed as planned.
The difficulties yet to be surmounted were graphically outlined by the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, in Tralee last night.
"In getting to all party talks," he stated, "we still have to resolve the whole issue of the ground rules on which they will be conducted, and try to develop an agreed agenda for them.
"We still have to resolve the issue of whether and how an elective process can play a part. We still have to reconcile differences between the parties on these issues and the involvement of all the parties under one roof remains the best way to do this. We have to address the question of the role a referendum, as suggested by John Hume, might play. And we have to do all that urgently."
Mr Spring was also critical of the Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble, who, he said, chose to misinterpret his correspondence and to place arbitrary obstacles in the way of a reasonable meeting.
Irish sources said the Taoiseach was unlikely to agree a communique which does not contain the firm assurance that elections would lead to negotiations within a designated timeframe and without further preconditions. That is being strongly resisted by Mr Trimble.
Mr Trimble insists the reinstatement of the IRA ceasefire, and talks designed to establish and effect decommissioning procedures, should be the first items on the agenda for post election talks.
While markedly unenthusiastic, Dublin is prepared to go along with proposals for a referendum inviting support for democratic principles and an end to violence. But it was made clear yesterday that the referendum proposal is of secondary importance to the election issue and Dublin's demand for hard and fast assurance that elections would provide the immediate ante chamber" to all party negotiations.
Internal unionist manoeuvres on the eve of the Commons vote have underlined the sharply differing views of the parties on that issue. The DUP threw a lifeline of sorts to Mr Major yesterday. indicating that its three MPs would not be voting against his government on Monday night.