WHO'S AFRAID of Albert Reynolds? Quite a lot of people it seems. Of all the ideas which Bertie Ahern had put forward about the composition of his government, the proposal that the former Taoiseach be given a roving brief on the peace process has attracted quite virulent criticism.
This has ranged from outright hostility on the part of the Ulster Unionists to a sneering dismissiveness from some commentators in this State. Ken Maginnis has described Mr Reynolds as a recycled and discredited politician" and has said that unionists would regard his appointment as a "sick joke". This anger is directed at Mr Reynolds's role in drawing up the Downing Street Declaration and the Framework Documents.
The objections in this State have more to do with the manner of his fall from power and his behaviour since. This isn't so much because it would be wrong to give an important political task to a man who was forced out of government in controversial circumstances. Rather, there seems to be a sense of social distaste that Mr Reynolds has demeaned himself (and the State) by the way he has conducted himself since his resignation.
His court case against the Sunday Times is often cited. More seriously, there is a perception that he has exploited his position as the man who achieved peace, however briefly, in our time. But this is an accusation that can be directed at any number of politicians who have found it difficult to adjust to loss of power but still want to give the rest of us the benefit of their views. Margaret Thatcher and F.W. de Klerk spring to mind.
"He's a loose cannon" is a phrase which has been used several times to describe him. This ignores the experience and the proven track record which Mr Reynolds would bring to the job.
Eaten bread is soon forgotten, particularly because many people now dismiss the IRA's original ceasefire as a cynical ploy. It is sometimes difficult to remember just how impossibly utopian the dream of peace seemed, and what a seismic difference those 17 months made to both communities in the North. The Shankill bomb, Greysteel, Loughinisland - these were events which would have made most people despair of ever seeing an end to the violence.
Mr Reynolds was not alone in driving the peace process forward; indeed there were times when he seemed to falter. But he played a pivotal role in keeping doors open to the paramilitaries on both sides, cajoling and bullying John Major, rebuffing critics in this State, spelling out the harsh political realities to friends of Ireland in the United States.
He was able to call on a lot of good advice from his own officials, from other politicians like John Home and church leaders like Archbishop Robin Eames. However, the decisions were his alone and that is why, whatever his shortcomings in Irish politics, the public is willing to give Mr Reynolds credit for making real the hitherto impossible dream of peace.
EVEN THOSE who are prepared to concede this point go on to argue that Mr Reynolds's behaviour since he lost power has been erratic, and that he has embarrassed the Government with his comments. But Mr Reynolds would be operating within the framework of a new government and would be answerable to Bertie Ahern.
Crucially, he would be working with Martin Mansergh whose experience and skill in building an inclusive peace process go back to the mid 1980s. Mr Mansergh is trusted by Sinn Fein but he has earned the confidence of Protestant church leaders, loyalist paramilitaries, the business community and other groups across the political spectrum in the North.
It is this combination of firsthand experience and personal contacts with some of the most important players in the Northern situation which could be crucial in the weeks and months ahead. As this week's news has shown all too vividly, we are approaching another crisis in the North.
"Who's afraid of peace?" is a question which Mr Reynolds used to ask a lot, rhetorically as though expecting the answer "Nobody in their right senses". The calculation is not so simple any more. It's obvious that a lot of people in the North are afraid of peace because of the problems it could mean for them. Unionist politicians fear that if the IRA calls a new ceasefire they will have to talk to Sinn Fein. The broader unionist community, while yearning for peace, is afraid that the ultimate result will be a "sellout" by the British government.
This accounts for what is probably the most alarming news in recent days, the rush of applications to join the Orange Order in time for this summer's marching season.
This jumpiness is matched on the nationalist side. Sinn Fein knows that if the party does get into serious negotiations after a ceasefire, any settlement is going to fall far short of the aspirations of many of its supporters. At the moment the most serious threat to peace on the republican side comes from relatively small groups - the INLA, the Continuity Army Council - who have made it clear their objective remains a British withdrawal and that nothing less will satisfy them.
However, there are elements within the IRA equally determined to reject moves towards a compromise, and whose actions against the security forces seem designed to make it impossible for talks between Sinn Fein and Northern Ireland Office officials to take place.
ALL THIS has given rise to the suspicion that the IRA has abandoned all idea of calling a new ceasefire and believes there is no reason why it cannot continue successfully with the dual strategy Armalite in one hand, ballot paper in the other.
According to this analysis, Sinn Fein's successes in elections on both sides of the Border have strengthened the hands of those within the IRA who argue that the voters are prepared to tolerate a degree of violence. That might be true in the short term, while Sinn Fein candidates are campaigning on a "peace now" ticket, but it would be a terrible mistake to see it as a long term strategy.
All the signs are that, if the IRA does not call a ceasefire soon, political and popular opinion in this State will lose patience with Sinn Fein. This will be followed by Washington and a broad swathe of Irish America abandoning the good ship, PanNationalist Front.
One of Albert Reynolds's great strengths in creating the original peace process was his ability to spell out to all parties the harsh political realities - the opportunities that existed but also the risks of failure. His task now is to convince Sinn Fein that if the IRA does not move to embrace democratic politics, the republican movement stands to lose everything it has gained since the original ceasefire. As Albert Reynolds himself would probably say, "That's the bottom line."