As a Unionist I have always thought of the PDs as an organisation we could really do business with. They've proved it time and time again with stuff like this. They seem to love giving the shinners a good old dig sometimes. Mary was in fine form in the Dail yesterday too.

They should be central to any crossborder relations thar the DUP or UUP may choose to have.

Pity the PDs represent such a tiny strand of opinion in the Free State, though.

Who says it's a pity?

Those who support their stance on NI.

Obviously.

Well Willow the beauty of PR means that our friend Mary is no2.

And with Ireland changing so rapidly these days and the middle classes expanding, our number of friends or friendly ears will expand too. We have more in common with the upwardly mobile Dub than the loony left shinner with his finger in the drug trade pie.

We have nothing to fear by making friends and explaining our position calmly and with respect. The smartest play the DUP played this time was the Doc arriving in Dublin for negotations not as the expected rabid dog but as a genial elder gentleman that was a bit of craic.

SF was on the backfoot from then on and have been outplayed ever since. I believe this was the main reason the document produced by the governments was so friendly to the DUP position and why the Ahern is 'taking sides' with the DUP.

Trimble could not have achieved this. The photograph lines in the document would have been entirely removed and Ahern would have been more happy to take the green position, as per usual. I believe SF assumed this would be the case too. How wrong they were.

I'm a Trimbleite but have to take my hat off to the DUP this time. Job well done.

If there really were wider issues then surely the DUP missed a trick by insisting on photographs, when it could have called Sinn Fein's bluff on far more substantive questions.
Then again, perhaps the DUP thought the other issues were likely to be resolved.

Compare the actual IRA statement with the 'expected' IRA statement in the paper.

The IRA deliberately omitted the phrase "recognising the need to uphold and not to endanger anyone's personal rights and safety..." from the statement it released through An Phoblacht.

The IRA position on the use of violence has not actually changed, and it still has not committed to the requirements in Paragraph 13 of the Joint Declaration.

Peter Robinson did not seem concerned about this in his statement to the Irish Times. But then why would the DUP be worried about Catholics and nationalists getting shot or beaten up by the IRA? As long as attacks are not on the 'other' community, ie no attacks on British targets or unionists, then he is happy.

The DUP have shifted their focus entirely on to the symbolic issue of decommissioning, when in reality it is IRA activity that is the real concern. By getting on the 'Trimble hook', the DUP are prepared to stomach IRA activity continuing, as Robinson basically admits in the Irish Times article today.

"The smartest play the DUP played this time was the Doc arriving in Dublin for negotations not as the expected rabid dog but as a genial elder gentleman that was a bit of craic."

Until it came out on Six One that he won't even shake Bertie Ahern's hand Two Nations.

That and the recent comments went down like a lead balloon even in the couldn't care less circles i move in.

Gonzo,
proof if proof was needed that this assembly, if if ever gets off the ground, it will have two parties looking to serve two communities. It won't last a year on this level.

One could argue that the PDs are just trying to retain their "kingmaker" status in the Dail over an emerging SF.

The more they seem to protest the clearer they make the writing on the wall.

Two Nations, why don't you concentrate on doing business with the Irish government as a whole, rather than selectively picking your friends ? Surely that would be the best way to secure your objectives.

I should remind you that the last time the deal came to a head and then faded away was because Trimble stopped the process in it's tracks and withdrew, complaining that he wanted some sort of evidence of decommissioning taking place. You can't be much of a Trimbleite if you aren't aware of that.