THE ULSTER Unionist Party has agreed an "electoral strategy" with MEP Jim Allister's Traditional Unionist Voice Party to try to ensure that two unionist politicians are returned as MEPs in next June's three-seater European elections in Northern Ireland.
UUP leader Sir Reg Empey and Mr Allister issued a statement yesterday saying they had agreed their strategy to maximise the unionist vote in coming elections.
The three sitting Northern MEPs are the UUP's Jim Nicholson, Sinn Féin's Bairbre de Brún and Jim Allister, originally elected as a DUP MEP but who resigned from the party when the DUP decided to share power with Sinn Féin.
The joint strategy caused surprise given that Mr Allister and his Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) are dedicated to destroying the power-sharing administration, and are viewed as being considerably to the right of the DUP.
The UUP fell short of saying whether Mr Nicholson's supporters should give their number two preference votes to Mr Allister or to the DUP candidate, who is yet to be selected: the statement was neutral on this point.
Sir Reg and Mr Allister said: "With the European election, as the next scheduled election, coming up in June, we agreed on the priority of retaining two unionist representatives in Europe. This should be the overriding priority of all unionists in respect of this election.
"Such is only attainable by full utilisation of transfers between the unionist candidates."
A DUP spokesman agreed that it was a "priority" that two unionists were elected in June. "It is clear that the DUP, as the largest unionist party, is best placed to ensure that unionism once again tops the poll in Europe and keeps unionism ahead," he said.
The UUP said that the "electoral strategy" did not amount to an "electoral pact" and in the coming weeks it may agree a similar arrangement with the DUP.
But the fact that the UUP would forge a strategy with Mr Allister, ahead of any such agreement with the DUP, is likely to annoy DUP leader Peter Robinson, who may see it as mischief-making.
Already the UUP is working on developing a formal political relationship with David Cameron and the Conservative Party, which has further irritated DUP leaders.
The UUP/TUV initiative also could have a bearing on whether, how and when Sinn Féin and the DUP might end their standoff that has blocked meetings of the Northern Executive for the past four months.
There is speculation that Mr Robinson is reluctant to move on setting a timeframe for devolving policing and justice powers to the Northern Executive, which Sinn Féin is demanding, until after the June elections, for fear such a move would play into the hands of Mr Allister.
Any concern that this initiative could enhance Mr Allister's chances or prevent the DUP from topping the poll in June could entrench Mr Robinson in his reluctance to provide a timeframe for the transfer of powers.
Mr Robinson is due to meet the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, in Dublin towards the end of this week to discuss the current political deadlock.
Alliance Assembly member Stephen Farry accused the UUP of acting in a "cynical and unprincipled" fashion and said the move called into question its "commitment to stability and progress".
President George Bush's special envoy on Northern Ireland, Paula Dobriansky, is due in Belfast today to discuss the impasse with the political parties, while she is scheduled to hold talks with the DUP in Westminster tomorrow.
As recently as last month, in an implicit call on the DUP to move on policing, she said that "all parties should move forward to create a fully functioning political environment for the benefit of all the people there".
