THERE is one thing all senior SDLP members are clear about there will be no electoral pact with Sinn Fein unless a new and credible IRA ceasefire is in place first.
Even in mid Ulster, where, in the words of one leading activist, the nationalist majority is "quite desperate" to get rid of the sitting MP, the Rev William McCrea, this is agreed.
SDLP people there are trapped in a dilemma, this man says.
"On the one hand the priority is to get rid of McCrea. The last straw was his appearance on a platform in Portadown with Billy Wright. On the other, while there is still violence on the streets, we have to realise that any joint electoral strategy with Sinn Fein could be blown completely out of the water by the Provos.
Ms Brid Rodgers, a member of the SDLP team at the all party talks, agrees that a ceasefire is a sine qua non of any talks with Sinn Fein about an electoral pact.
However she also highlights another SDLP dilemma. She believes a bloc of six or seven nationalist MPs taking their seats in the House of Commons would benefit the faltering peace process.
"They would be in a strong position to make a positive impact at Westminster in the way the unionists are making a negative impact now."
This would depend, however, on achieving the near impossible feat of persuading Sinn Fein to drop its hallowed insistence on abstentionism and to take its seats in the British parliament.
The independent minded Belfast SDLP councillor, Dr Alasdair McDonnell, speaks for many party members east of the Bann when he says Sinn Fein's invitation to talks is the equivalent of the spider saying "come into my parlour" to the fly.
The aim, he says, is the destruction of the party of constitutional nationalism. He worries that the IRA will turn off the violence before the election in order to allow Sinn Fein to step up its pressure on the SDLP for a pact in order to maximise the vote for single "unity" candidates in constituencies like mid Ulster, the new constituency of West Tyrone and in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.
He says even in the event of a ceasefire, any arrangement with Sinn Fein must be based not only on sectarian headcounts, but also on a political deal. He would want to see all four sitting SDLP MPs given a free run, an almost inconceivable scenario given Dr Joe Hendrons weakness against Mr Gerry Adams in West Belfast.
The three "east of the Bann" MPs, Dr Hendron, Mr Seamus Mallon and Mr Eddie McGrady, are understandably totally opposed to any electoral agreement.
Mr McGrady said yesterday Sinn Fein was playing a "political strategic game between a ceasefire and pseudo arrangements proposing some vague electoral pact.
"At the end of the day this would be of great disadvantage to nationalist people's representation in that democratic nationalist elements would be subject to the demands of the IRA army council.
"Sinn Fein is doing this by using the emotive catch cry `Let's get rid of Willie McCrea', as if that were the most important objective in this election. It's not at the top of my agenda. We need to maximise the democratic nationalist vote which is the only one which will be listened to by the British, Irish, US and European government.