There is mounting concern in London and Dublin that the SDLP leader and Deputy First Minister, Mr Mark Durkan, may take pre-emptive action ahead of the UUP's expected withdrawal from the Executive in January, writes Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor
As the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister prepare for a summit shortly aimed at averting another crisis in the peace process, Mr Durkan warned yesterday there was too much focus on the UUP's ultimatum that it would attempt to bring down the Executive after January 18th if the IRA had not disbanded.
"We will not do anything that would compound the damage being done by the UUP's latest position nor are we going to be complicit in the synchronised dissolution of the institutions," Mr Durkan told The Irish Times after addressing an SDLP fringe meeting at the British Labour Party conference in Blackpool.
Mr Durkan refused to elaborate on what he meant by refusing to be complicit in allowing the institutions to crumble, although well-placed sources say there is concern that he is planning some form of action that could include withdrawing SDLP ministers from the Executive ahead of the UUP deadline.
He signalled that an imminent pressure point is October 26th when the UUP insists it will boycott a North-South Ministerial Council meeting which Sinn Féin Minister of Health, Ms Bairbre de Brún, is due to attend.
Sources said that Mr Durkan, in meetings with the Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, had clearly hinted he was contemplating some form of precipitate action.
One source said that there was a sense that Mr Durkan "would consult with members of his own party to see whether they were up for the nuclear option and going earlier, that he was not going to wait for Mr Trimble to pull the plug, and that that was an option.
"But there could be a fair amount of grandstanding in all this. He was sending signals to David Trimble that 'if you think you are in charge of the agenda then think again, because I have the same powers as you have' [to collapse the Executive]."
Withdrawing from the Executive would be a huge gamble considering that the Belfast Agreement is viewed as the party's blueprint. Nonetheless Mr Durkan made it explicit yesterday that his party could not be taken for granted and the two governments are treating his warning seriously.
"This isn't about waiting to see what happens in January, which is the way some people are playing it," Mr Durkan said. He wanted to disabuse any notion that "we can be indifferent to anything that happens between now and January, that only January is real".
He made clear his concerns to Dr Reid and in his speech added that the Northern Secretary had the power to ensure the ministerial council could fully operate even in the event of a unionist boycott.