Northern Ireland is light years removed for the better from the period before the ceasefires. While the scale of the problems is different, the difficulties are essentially the same. Just look back on the past few days: a murder in Newtownards, an attempted "Real IRA" bombing in Strabane, nationalist riots in Portadown, loyalist tension in north Belfast, and the continuation of pipe bomb and "punishment" attacks.
And to follow, Drumcree and all the sectarianism and violence that goes with the summer marching season. There is a constancy too about politics: orange versus green, and bitter power struggles within these groupings.
In this election, as in all other recent elections, the names of the Ulster Unionist Party, the DUP, the SDLP and Sinn Fein dominate the headlines and the airwaves. The focus is on cockpit constituencies, such as West Tyrone, North Belfast, Strangford, and Fermanagh-South Tyrone, where these struggles are being fought.
What hope has the middle ground against this tidal wave of tribal politics? According to some, this is the election that will sound the death knell for the Alliance Party.
One of the problems for Alliance is that while politics is still mainly about sectarian head counts, there has been a shift in the nature of politics. The additional factor transcending the old rivalries is that this election is about the confrontation between those who support this Agreement, and those who oppose it . This poses no difficulty for nationalists because by voting either SDLP or Sinn Fein they are endorsing the Good Friday agreement. The Yes/No conflict is concentrated within unionism, and here the pro-Agreement wing of Ulster Unionism has stolen some of Alliance's clothes. The obvious irony here is that the cross-community consensual character of the agreement is core to Alliance's philosophy, yet, so far, it is not gaining any advantage for its 31 years of struggle to achieve that goal.
For a traditional middle-class Protestant Alliance supporter, the problem is that his or her vote in the Westminster election might be better served in terms of safeguarding the Agreement by being placed in favour of Ulster Unionist candidates.
That dilemma was nowhere better illustrated than in North Down where, with nothing in return from Mr David Trimble, Alliance withdrew its candidate Dr Stephen Farry to give Lady Sylvia Hermon a free run against Mr Robert McCartney.
Alliance refused to withdraw from Strangford and South Antrim where such a move would bolster the prospects of Ulster Unionists Mr David McNarry and Mr David Burnside in their respective contests against the DUP's Ms Iris Robinson and the Rev William McCrea. Alliance conceded no ground here because the UUP refused to withdraw from East Belfast - where Dr David Alderdice in a straight head-to-head conceivably could have defeated the DUP deputy leader Mr Peter Robinson - and because it perceives Mr Burnside and Mr McNarry as anti-Agreement.
"Electoral suicide" was how Mr McCartney depicted Alliance's withdrawal in North Down. It was indeed a huge gesture, and if Mr Trimble comes out of this election reasonably firm in his position as leader it may be substantially down to that sacrifice. But will that decision have repercussions for the party elsewhere? Will some Alliance voters in South Antrim or Strangford follow Mr Trimble's advice? That's the danger for Alliance. Mr David Ford, who is contesting South Antrim, predicts they won't.
Mr Ford said the reaction to the North Down decision has been overwhelmingly positive. He said Alliance voters in the constituency understood and agreed with the reasoning. Proof of this would be in the local council returns for the North Down borough. He expected Alliance to hold its six seats and possibly gain one, which would likely make it the biggest party in the borough. In Belfast he said that the party should hold its five seats, albeit with some difficulty. He was utterly confident that Alliance would continue to hold the balance of power between orange and green in Belfast.
Overall Alliance won 41 council seats in 1987. There could be some minor slippage this time but if it is reasonably close to that mark after June 7th, then Mr Ford is certain anyone predicting middleground meltdown will be disappointed.
"Our slogan is `More than Just the Agreement'. Perhaps we are an election early with that message. In the next election or so, when the Agreement has battened down our message of a shared community, it will begin to take hold," said Mr Ford.
He was conscious the sectarianism and tribalism so evident on the streets would challenge his conviction, but nonetheless he was keeping faith. "After this election Alliance will still be here, because the need for us will still be here," said Mr Ford.