Politics has to succeed

The Taoiseach will meet the British Prime Minister in Downing Street tonight for a critical stocktaking of the Belfast Agreement…

The Taoiseach will meet the British Prime Minister in Downing Street tonight for a critical stocktaking of the Belfast Agreement. The heads of agreement on demilitarisation and decommissioning are on the table. But, in the normal run of things relating to Northern Ireland, they are hypothetical at the time of writing.

That is the context in which Mr Blair and Mr Ahern will resume their attempt to broker a three-part package to bring the Belfast Agreement to full working order before the forthcoming British general election. There has been a week's forced absence of full attention to the detail - owing to the resignation of Mr Peter Mandelson. The new Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, has familiarised himself with the outline of the obstacles to progress. It now rests with the two heads of government to translate the basis for an agreement on security normalisation, decommissioning and policing into a comprehensive deal.

There are some signs this time, that the leaders believe matters can be brought to a closure. The soundings are more positive than negative. The attention at tonight's meeting will focus on the principles of the decommissioning /demilitarisation package so that concrete concessions can be wrought from both sides in the coming days. It is still not known how much either side will do, and when. The issue of policing is proving more difficult and will be left until last. The British Prime Minister is, apparently, prepared to give guarantees to the SDLP and Sinn Fein on the concerns they have raised about the issue. They still stop short of a commitment to amend the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill which established the new service.

These renewed attempts to enable the Belfast Agreement to be fully implemented, have gained a new imperative in Northern Ireland. The High Court in Belfast ruled yesterday that the decision by the First Minister, Mr David Trimble, at a divided Ulster Unionist Council meeting last October, to ban Sinn Fein Ministers from attending meetings of the North/ South Ministerial Council was unlawful. Mr Justice Kerr concluded that "the First Minister may not use his powers to exert pressure on Sinn Fein in the manner that he sought to do so". The judgment does not mean that Mr Trimble was bound to nominate Sinn Fein Ministers; rather he had the discretion to nominate alternative representatives who would satisfy the criteria of cross-community support.

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Mr Trimble has announced his intention to appeal that judgment. He has to play for time in the hope that the IRA will sign up to putting arms verifiably beyond use in the prospective agreement. His pro-agreement candidate, Mr James Cooper, was selected to contest the Fermanagh and South Tyrone seat by a narrow majority of nine votes on Monday night. His deputy leader, Mr John Taylor - who has been an important ally at crucial times in the peace process - has decided not to stand in the British general election.

The final attempt by Mr Ahern and Mr Blair to bring the current negotiations to a closure would restore certainty to the peace process and help all pro-agreement parties in that election. For the sake of parliamentary politics, it must succeed. And soon.