Executive deadline will not be met, Trimble warns

Northern Ireland will not have a power-sharing executive by the November deadline set by the Irish and British governments, former First Minister David Trimble forecast today.

The Nobel Laureate accused British Prime Minister Tony Blair of threatening unionists and ignoring the failings of republicans when he launched the blueprint to restore devolution.

Mr Trimble also claimed the DUP leadership lacked the moral courage to make major political decisions.

The ex-Ulster Unionist leader, who resigned last year, said he was not impressed by the joint plan to revive the Assembly, which has been suspended since October 2002.

He said: “I looked very closely at the statement that Tony Blair made when he came here and I don't see in that anything that holds out the prospect of success.

“I think actually the Prime Minister made some serious mistakes in his address on that occasion. He tried to hint at some negative outcome for unionists if an administration was not formed. That isn’t going to work.

“Even if there was some nasty thing waiting round the corner, to threaten people in that way is counterproductive.”

Mr Trimble said Mr Blair had failed to strike a balance when he launched the initiative with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Armagh earlier this month.

He told BBC1’s Politics Show: “The Prime Minister left out entirely the other side of the equation and what ought to happen there.

“If republicans were committed to peace and democracy, as they claimed, then they would have moved years ago to support policing. They wouldn’t be going through a charade of condemning criminality and murder when it is done by republicans. They would be actively helping the police to bring those responsible to justice which they have failed to do.

“The Prime Minister forgot to focus on that.”

On the way forward, Mr Trimble said: “There is not going to be a successful administration formed until republicans manage to convince the unionist electorate that they have changed.

“They haven’t done that yet and they don’t even seem to be aware of the need to do it.”

He also sounded a note of caution in the wake of last week’s publication of the most positive Independent Monitoring Commission report yet.

He said: “It says the republican leadership is trying to do certain things. It does not say they have succeeded in doing it. I think the IMC would have been better underlining what still remains to be done.”

Mr Trimble said he did not expect the Rev Ian Paisley’s party to form an executive with Sinn Féin before the end of the year.

“I actually think the DUP do not have the moral courage to take any difficult political decision,” he said.

“They have never done it yet and I will be surprised if they do it this year.”

Asked how desperate the DUP were to get into government, Lord Trimble replied: “Some of them may be but on the other hand I think their leadership has not got the moral courage to take a decision.

“We saw that in 2004. We saw them engaging in negotiations, talking up the prospect of agreement, but at the very last minute they lost their nerve.”

Earlier this month, Assembly members were given until November 24 to set up a power-sharing executive.

Mr Blair and Mr Ahern confirmed the Assembly will be recalled on May 15 when parties will be given six weeks to elect an executive.

If that fails, the 108 members will get a further 12 weeks after the summer recess to try to form a multi-party devolved government.

Should that attempt also collapse, MLA salaries will be stopped and both governments will then work on partnership arrangements to implement the Good Friday Agreement.