Pressure mounts on Paisley to cut deal on Executive

THE North plunged into a frantic round of political brinkmanship today as Dublin and London piled pressure on Rev Ian Paisley finally to cut a power-sharing deal in the wake of the Belfast Assembly poll.

With the DUP on course to gain ground as the results started to be declared for the 108 Stormont seats, the Loyalist hardliner was warned not to let the historic opportunity pass.

Voter turn-out was brisker than expected after a low-key campaign, as the DUP was poised to take its MLA tally to around 35 — the number thought necessary by observers for Rev Paisley to be able to claim a mandate to go into government with Sinn Féin.

As soon as the 18 multi-member constituencies began to declare, the clock started ticking down to the March 26 deadline imposed by the two governments for a cross-community Executive to be up and running.

The final result will not be known until tomorrow evening in what is being seen as the last chance to establish the “grand coalition” between the communities envisaged in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

London and Dublin have used a carrot and stick approach to try and cajole the DUP into cutting a deal. Both governments insist Stormont will be wound-up if the deadline passes and Dublin are given a much greater say over direct rule of the North in the so-called Plan B option.

As a sweetener, Britain, and to a lesser extent the Republic, have offered billions of euro in development aid to the Executive if power-sharing goes ahead.

A two-stage compromise deal could still emerge with the Executive sitting in shadow form on March 26 while the DUP demand more time to assess Sinn Féin’s commitment to civic policing. Under this deal Dr Paisley would then take up the post of First Minister in full, with Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness as his deputy, by June.

Sinn Féin are expected to consolidate their position as the second biggest party with their tally of seats remaining in the mid-20’s, The nationalist SDLP was thought to be on course to hold its own at about 18, but the once dominant UUP could see several losses.