Sitting in his plush office in east Belfast, the DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, is unsurprised that recent opinion polls show the No campaigners gaining ground. Even when they were written off as yesterday's men, he was not downhearted.
He always had faith in the "ordinary people of Ulster". The Belfast Agreement was couched in "legalese and Northern Ireland Office-speak", designed to confuse, he claims. But he was confident that "when we took our campaign to the people, when we explained things and asked them to analyse the document again, they would rally behind us."
Supporters of the Belfast Agreement have enjoyed every advantage, he claims - unlimited funds, "compliant" media, and the support of many establishment figures.
He will not predict an exact figure for the No vote. But he is confident that, on Friday, a majority of unionists will vote No. The plan from then on is simple - to elect as many anti-agreement unionists as possible to the assembly, where they will destroy the deal from within. They will attempt to frustrate the establishment of cross-border bodies; they will vote against Sinn Fein entering government; and they will oppose the release of prisoners. Mr Robinson believes they can wreck the agreement.
Ironically, it is nationalists who have provided the means to do so, he says. "John Hume has been too clever by half. By insisting on an assembly with a nationalist veto, he has also provided an assembly with a unionist veto. He may regret that."
The Belfast Agreement will inevitably fall "and for the first time in generations, the thrust of government policy will have to be: `How can we accommodate unionists?' "
Mr Robinson denies anti-agreement unionists are acting irresponsibly. He condemns attempts to "demonise No campaigners and present us as though we are against peace and for pestilence and plague."
It is the Yes campaigners who are acting immorally, he says. They support the establishment of a "rigged and undemocratic" assembly not based on majoritarian principles. They have agreed to cross-border bodies which allow a "hostile foreign state" a growing role in Northern Ireland's internal affairs.
They are proposing to sit "cheek-tocheek with Adams and McGuinness in government" when the IRA remains "armed to the teeth." They will allow the release of "unrepentant" prisoners and the destruction of a police force which has valiantly upheld law and order.
He comments: "The only way Gerry Adams or Martin McGuinness will be put out of government is if they are found with a smoking gun in their hand."
He believes the IRA will resume its campaign. This is not paranoia, he insists. The intelligence source which gave him details of a bugging device in the home of Sinn Fein negotiator Mr Gerry Kelly also passed on information showing the Provisionals had not abandoned violence for good, he says.
Mr Robinson finds it "unbelievable" that Ulster Unionist leaders who opposed Sunningdale support the Belfast Agreement. "I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with David Trimble and John Taylor back then. They told us that agreement was bad for the Union because it put Gerry Fitt in government. Now they tell us this agreement strengthens the Union when it puts Gerry Adams in government."
He is briskly dismissive of the UUP leader. "David Trimble got elected on the back of his relationship with Ian Paisley at Drumcree. His credentials were entirely fake but it is of little value spending time questioning the motives of politicians."
During the campaign against the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement there were monster rallies and strikes across the North. Nothing like that has happened this time. Mr Robinson denies the mood in the unionist community has softened.
"We don't need to take to the streets because we have an opportunity next Friday to vote against this deal. That was denied us in 1985."
He rejects suggestions that his position is much more marginalised than it was 13 years ago. "I have attended nine No meetings and each one has been full. I am still awaiting David Trimble to call his first public meeting." If unionist Yes campaigners held equally large meetings, the media would hail them as highly successful, he says.
Mr Robinson, like other No campaigners, points to a survey which showed the Yes campaign securing 70 per cent of television and newspaper coverage in Northern Ireland. "The media are part of the Yes campaign. They have abandoned any entitlement to describe themselves as an independent, objective Fourth Estate. They are part of the political process and in the pocket of the NIO."
Some commentators believe the Rev Ian Paisley has a negative effect on the No campaign, with his aggressive political style alienating some voters. Does Mr Robinson agree?
"Each of us might have a negative effect on somebody but a positive effect on others. Dr Paisley's vote-catching ability is beyond question. He is Ulster's most popular politician. He tops the polls."
The 32-County Sovereignty Committee and Republican Sinn Fein argue that the Belfast Agreement copper-fastens partition and reinforces British rule in Ireland. Do their arguments not reassure Mr Robinson that the Union is safe?
"Not at all. Those people simply want a united Ireland today. They are not prepared to wait even a few months like the Sinn Fein leadership." The repeal of the 1920 Government of Ireland Act means Northern Ireland is no longer an integral part of the UK, he says. "The mooring ropes have been loosened and we have been set adrift and pushed towards a united Ireland."
Ironically, his analysis is akin to Sinn Fein's - yet this does not make him uncomfortable.
"I have nothing but contempt and loathing for Sinn Fein/IRA. But the one thing I never do is argue they are stupid or bereft of a strategy. They have quite properly recognised this is an all-Ireland deal. It would be a fool of a nationalist who would not vote for this agreement."
The agreement offers local politicians the chance to end direct rule and wield political power. Is he not tempted to enter Stormont with a constructive approach and aim for high office?
"Anyone involved in politics would welcome the opportunity to exercise power and realise their political philosophy. But I won't sell my principles in order to get that position."