UNIONISTS were well pleased with John Major's finesse on the Mitchell report. The SDLP and Sinn Fein seemed to be holding the best cards in this political game but in the end were still trumped by the British government.
In the morning, political developments had favoured the SDLP and, with some qualification, Sinn Fein. Senator George Mitchell and his two colleagues had ruled out the precondition of decommissioning before talks, satisfying nationalists and republicans, although laying down a number of other preconditions that Sinn Fein would have some difficulty in meeting.
But in the afternoon the British Prime Minister executed a rather artful manoeuvre that shifted the balance of satisfaction. The UUP's David Trimble, and to a lesser extent, the Democratic Unionist Party, had triumphed when they were apparently playing with the weaker hand.
Senator Mitchell said his International Body on decommissioning would become redundant at 11.30 a.m. yesterday, allowing himself, and his Finnish and Canadian colleagues to return to their families after seven weeks of committed activity.
The demeanour of the Ulster Unionist Party yesterday morning, and the actions of Mr Major in the House of Commons in the afternoon, suggested that the main plank of the International Body's report no precondition to talks was being made redundant even as the report was being published.
An angry Mr John Hume said Mr Major was again "long fingering" the prospect of all party talks at the behest of the Ulster Unionists. The SDLP leader accused Mr Major of trying to buy unionist votes for his beleaguered government, with the offer of an assembly. Mr Major rejected this allegation, although there were strong indications early yesterday that the UUP knew it was getting their coveted elected body.
While the DUP was protesting in the morning that the Mitchell report was a "slap in the face" for unionism, Mr Trimble and his colleagues were looking self assured.
In the morning, Mr Trimble was repeating that there must be prior decommissioning and that the most effective way forward was through an elected body while Mr Ken Maginnis predicted that Mr Major would propose an elected body that very afternoon.
And to their great satisfaction if not surprise, that is what Mr Major suggested. The DUP, though obviously not briefed beforehand, was exhilarated. While the Rev Ian Paisley and his deputy, Mr Peter Robinson, were generally denouncing the report in the morning, the mood changed dramatically in the afternoon.
Mr Robinson was so comforted by the assembly suggestion that he even found good words to say about the report and offered to meet the SDLP leader. "On behalf of the DUP I am willing to meet with Mr Hume to discuss how his fears about a democratically elected assembly might be overcome.
So, by last night unionists had a report from a prestigious international body that urged the paramilitaries to renounce future use of violence, and a strong pledge from Mr Major to establish an assembly that would put back the evil day of fully engaging with Sinn Fein.
It was a day also which suggested that a thorn in the side of the unionists the loyalist fringe parties could themselves become sidelined the likelihood is that in an impending election these parties, unlike Sinn Fein, would fare badly at the polls.
But there was one downside to this surfeit of joy. Part of the nationalist objection to an elected body was that it could wreck the three strand approach to a political solution that it could destroy the North South dimension.
Mr Major, at least, did quote Senator Mitchell's report to state that a future elected body should be broadly acceptable", operate with an "appropriate mandate, and within the three strand structure".
But unionists were prepared to tolerate that proviso. After all whatever about nationalist, and particularly hard line republican, dissatisfaction a day that started off pretty shakily for them ended on a buoyant note courtesy of a compliant Mr Major.
