The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern could pay a high electoral price for failing to make Sinn Féin fulfil its peace process obligations, a senior Ulster Unionist warned tonight.
As the wait for the package of proposals aimed at rescuing the Belfast Agreement continued, acting Stormont First Minister Sir Reg Empey took a swipe at the Government for not doing more to secure republican disarmament.
Mr Empey claimed this may come back to haunt the Taoiseach and the Fianna Fáil party given Sinn Féin's goal of huge ballot box gains in the next general election.
"Bertie Ahern has taken Sinn Féin in and now realises there's a cuckoo in the nest," he told PANews.
"There's a big push being made by Sinn Féin in many constituencies and a major assault is going to be launched on Fianna Fáil in particular."
Mr Empey, who took over the First Minister's duties when his party leader David Trimble sparked the current political crisis by resigning from the post, has mounted a sustained attack on the Government on the issue of IRA guns.
Questioning Mr Ahern's ability to thrash out concessions from Sinn Féin, he asked: "Is his authority going to be upheld or is it going to be swept aside by people who have access to a private army which is against the Irish constitution?"
He also accused the Government of double standards over its support for inquiries into murders in Northern Ireland dogged by allegations of security force involvement.
Pointing to last week's court appearance by IRA men convicted of the manslaughter of Garda Jerry McCabe, he claimed the authorities had taken a vastly different approach to this case than in its "cavalier" quest to secure RUC guilt.
"That clearly demonstrates the two-speed Agreement we have in the sense that the Republic looks after its own interests," he said.
"It seems prepared to turn a blind eye and yet expect matters here to be dealt with."
The British and Irish governments will unveil sometime next week - possibly Wednesday - their plans for breaking the deadlocked process.
A take-it-or-leave-it package containing proposals on policing, scaling down the Army presence in Northern Ireland, paramilitary weapons and securing the devolved institutions will be put to the North's pro-Agreement parties.
If accepted before the deadline of August 12, the threat hanging over the Belfast Agreement would be lifted.
But rejection would lead to either fresh Assembly elections or a suspension of the powersharing administration.
Hardline Ulster Unionist MPs Jeffrey Donaldson and David Burnside have already rejected the package before even seeing its contents.
Although Mr Empey was prepared to wait and see what was on offer, he insisted clear proof of disarmament was needed.
"If there's not decommissioning I do not believe there's the remotest possibility of a First and Deputy First Minister being elected on August 12," he said.
However, senior Sinn Féin negotiator Gerry Kelly today insisted Mr Trimble must take full responsibility if the power-sharing Executive was pulled down.
But while he admitted there was "no encouragement" for the IRA to destroy weapons following the joint announcement by Mr Donaldson and Mr Burnside, the Northern Ireland Assembly member for North Belfast balanced this with a note of guarded optimism. "There was a series of issues outstanding in the Good Friday Agreement which have to be sorted out," he told BBC Radio Ulster.
"If this package produces, if it's done within the Good Friday Agreement then we are in with a chance."
PA