THE DUP and Sinn Féin resume talks in Belfast today aimed at resolving outstanding issues that had threatened the stability of the Northern Executive and Assembly.
While new First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said progress was made during their Gordon Brown-hosted talks at Downing Street on Friday, there is a Sinn Féin concern that mid-ranking DUP politicians are attempting to disrupt the Sinn Féin- DUP powersharing arrangements at Stormont.
"Clearly there are DUP people who want to scupper what is happening here. That's something that Peter Robinson will have to deal with," said one Sinn Féin source.
His remarks were prompted by a series of DUP statements on Friday and Thursday condemning Sinn Féin for threatening to block the election of Mr Robinson as First Minister last Thursday because the DUP was vetoing movement on issues such as the devolution of policing and justice, the Irish language, the proposed Maze stadium and a replacement for the Eleven Plus school transfer test.
The British and Irish governments are also anxious that last week's brinkmanship battle between Sinn Féin and the DUP could damage what was hoped would be a smooth transition from the Paisley-McGuinness led Executive to the Robinson-McGuinness administration.
It was notable that on Friday, while Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness were talking at Downing Street, four statements were issued from the DUP press office insisting that the DUP was getting its way at Stormont.
Upper Bann MP and Assembly member David Simpson called Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams a "political bluffer" for generating a "mini-crisis" over the nomination of the First Minister.
While Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness said they were addressing issues of concern to the two parties, including devolution of justice, the Irish language and education, Mr Simpson insisted Sinn Féin was getting no change from the DUP on these matters.
South Antrim MP William McCrea said the election of Mr Robinson as First Minister showed that Sinn Féin's "bluff has been well and truly called by the DUP" and that Sinn Féin's "attempt at brinkmanship had comprehensively failed".
Mr McCrea also said there was no movement on Sinn Féin concerns. "The truth of the matter is that Gerry Adams was desperately seeking to re-establish some credibility following the string of defeats that have been inflicted on Sinn Féin in the Assembly by unionists," he added.
DUP MLA Peter Weir, in an attack on Traditional Unionist Voice MEP Jim Allister, said: "The DUP is using devolution to advance a pro-unionist agenda at Stormont and to prevent the imposition of a nationalist agenda upon our community" while Ian Paisley junior said the DUP "will not be relinquishing the control which we have achieved within the Assembly".
So far Sinn Féin has not responded directly to the taunts. One senior source made clear however that such tactics could be destabilising and that it was a matter for Mr Robinson to control.
Mr Robinson is also due to announce a reshuffle of DUP ministries today.
