Dublin's opposition to election eases

THE Government and Fianna Fail have moved from their position of outright opposition to an election as a precondition for entry into all party talks in Northern Ireland.

Both the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Ahern, and senior Government sources indicated last night that an election may be the most direct route into all party talks, provided the terms were right.

Mr Ahern said that nationalist Ireland would not accept an elected body, either as a forum for negotiations, which would exclude the two governments and be an unacceptable departure from the three strand approach, or still less as a temporary substitute for all party negotiations.

"The notion that anyone of the nationalist side would be prepared to sit around examining and debating issues without commitment for two years, before engaging in real negotiations, can be dismissed out of hand," he stated.

Mr Ahern said that the British government was obviously trying to mend fences, while sticking to its original plan.

"Their proposal cannot even be seriously discussed in the absence of full unionist participation in the twin track approach, involving direct discussions with the Irish Government, and in the absence of a clear commitment by the unionist parties to seek an electoral mandate solely for the purpose of entering immediate all party talks including Sinn Fein without further preconditions on a three stranded basis organised by the two governments in which they accept that the Framework Document will be formally on the table together with any other proposals."

Since the Mitchell report offered a perfectly viable way of fulfilling the two governments' aim of convening all party talks before the end of February, the Government should continue to insist strenuously that "nothing except a watertight agreement within the next four weeks to move immediately to all party, talks will suffice at this stage, said Mr Ahern.

Government sources believe that the British prime minister's proposal for an elected body will be on the agenda for talks on the apolitical track in the next three weeks. A view is gaining ground in Government circles that an electoral mandate for immediate all party negotiations, provide that it can be sought on terms acceptable to the nationalist community, may be the fastest way to break the new impasse in the peace process.