Inexperience and dissension may be overcome

Apart from Mr John Taylor, who served in the last Stormont administration before it was prorogued in 1972, none of the Assembly members talked about as likely ministers has held government office.

Some training has been provided. Since the 108-member Assembly was elected last summer, its members have attended courses in Belfast, Boston and Brussels, learning how the Northern Ireland civil service and administrations abroad function.

The executive is expected to meet formally on Thursday, and thereafter weekly. But there will probably be two empty chairs in the cabinet room. The DUP has insisted it will not sit in a cabinet with Sinn Fein, but that nonetheless it will take its two seats on the executive.

The deputy DUP leader, Mr Peter Robinson, has said he and his expected ministerial colleague, Mr Nigel Dodds, will act as "ministers in opposition" operating to wreck the "republican agenda".

Mr Dodds said last night the party would fulfil its electoral commitment not to sit in government with Sinn Fein in the absence of total IRA decommissioning. But he refused to say how, in practice, the DUP could honour this commitment and still take two departments.

He declined to divulge what the DUP would do in the coming days. "You will just have to wait and see how things unfold," said Mr Dodds.

Other ministers-in-waiting were relatively sanguine about the DUP's position last night. They expect that should devolution and decommissioning fall into place, the DUP would at some level co-operate with other ministers, even with Mr Martin McGuinness and Ms Bairbre de Brun of Sinn Fein.

Mr Mark Durkan, who is to take up one of the SDLP's three ministries, said that eventually the public would see the "absurdity" of the DUP position.

"Each department will report to an Assembly committee comprising members from all the parties including Sinn Fein and the DUP. If Sinn Fein and the DUP can operate at Assembly committee level it would be absurd if they could not somehow co-operate at cabinet level as well," he added.

Ultimately, the DUP could face the sanction of being expelled from cabinet. Initially at least, fellow ministers would be reluctant to take such a course of action.

All ministers must sign a pledge of office that requires them to "participate with colleagues in the preparation of a programme for government" and to "support, and to act in accordance with, all decisions" of the executive and Assembly.

Self-interest, too, may force Mr Robinson and Mr Dodds into some form of collective cabinet. They will not wish to be out of the loop when, in the early stages of this executive, budgetary allocations are decided or when a programme for government is drawn up, other potential ministers believe.

"Are they going to deal with us by e-mail?" asked Mr Durkan.

Ms Bairbre de Brun: one of Sinn Fein's putative ministers