Who will be the first to say, "I told you so"? Who will put on the armour of self justification and claim that the horror now looming as a result of the IRA's murderous attack in Lisburn on Monday was predestined and there was nothing the wit of civilised human beings could devise that would have prevented it? As the ordinary citizen, north and south, Wonders whether and when the loyalist paramilitaries will strike back, or if the IRA or another republican group is about to commit a fresh act of criminal violence, politics continue to founder.
The Taoiseach's speech in the Dail yesterday was fine phrased in damning the IRA. But what then? A month ago in Washington, he predicted a restoration of the IRA ceasefire was on the way. The British prime minister and the Northern Secretary have been upbeat about the talks in the last few weeks, but perceptibly the process has hung fire. Mr Bruton, Mr Major and Sir Patrick Mayhew are all honourable men, and all, no doubt, are aware of the danger of talking up what remains resolutely down. In the end, words begin to lose credibility.
While the focus is on the intentions of the IRA and the loyalists, the sense of grim foreboding will be paramount. There is, at the moment, no great belief in the power of initiative of the two governments. Their overarching authority has been undermined by events, and effectively the determinant of the well being of millions of Irish men and women, possibly for years to come, is the decision of two small, unknown and unelected, groups of paramilitary leaders whose agendas differ from those of the vast majority.
Is this not a scenario that should galvanise the whole political apparatus to action? The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, proposed in the Dail yesterday that the Taoiseach and the British prime minister should hold a summit on the peace process. This is an eminently sensible suggestion. It may be objected that if the two heads of government meet, and fail to agree on a common purpose, they will contribute to intensifying the crisis. This, however, is likely to be the result if they don't meet, since the reason why will be obvious to everyone.
On the other hand, a summit, well prepared but not too long delayed, will signal that the Dublin London axis, which has all along been a vital element in the political process, is alive and functioning, and performing its essential task. And if Mr Bruton and Mr Major are not imbued, when meeting in this context, with a proper sense of the urgency of getting an agreement between themselves, then all is indeed lost. There is no room now for the niceties and refinements that have caused the process to falter over the past few years. They are the elected and known men who head the democratic machine, and they must now plot the course for the future and make the necessary decisions.
It is not too much to say that at this point democracy in this island is being tested. The primary aim of Mr Bruton and Mr Major is clear to convey to the elected political leaders and their followers the message that the choice is between anarchy and positive leadership. The sound now in the air, drowning out the low rumble of preparation by self appointed armies, is of the pre emptive washing of hands on the part of some politicians. It is not enough to lay blame and condemn, though there is ample need for both. When one hears the voice of men and women in the streets of the North's towns and villages and in this State, where there are no illusions about the terrors that could lie ahead there can be no doubt that the overwhelming demand is for peace and hope. The job of the political leaders is to see that this demand is not frustrated.