Unionist parties supporting the Belfast Agreement are considering putting a coalition candidate forward in the next general election, after dissident unionist Mr Peter Weir was selected as the candidate for the Ulster Unionist Party in North Down.
Mr Weir defeated pro-agreement candidate Lady Sylvia Hermon by five votes to win the nomination on Thursday night. While his selection was viewed as another blow to Mr David Trimble's leadership of the UUP, Yes parties now contend that the decision could rebound against anti-agreement unionists.
The Progressive Unionist Party Assembly member, Mr David Ervine, is seeking talks with the Alliance Party and the Women's Coalition to determine if they could agree a coalition candidate to challenge Mr Weir and sitting MP Mr Robert McCartney for the seat.
Both Mr Ervine and Mr Stephen Farry, leader of the Alliance grouping on the local council, yesterday argued that with two senior anti-agreement politicians standing in a constituency that voted in favour of the agreement, a Yes candidate would stand a chance of winning.
In the Assembly elections of 1998, four pro-agreement candidates - two UUP, one Alliance and one Women's Coalition - were returned with almost 15,000 votes and two anti-agreement candidates - Mr Robert McCartney and Mr Peter Weir - with almost 12,000 votes.
If the coalition idea is accepted it throws up the intriguing possibility of another battle royal between Mr Ervine and Mr McCartney, whose political antipathy to each other runs long and deep. In the European elections last year, Mr Ervine outpolled Mr McCartney, the UK Unionist Party leader.
Finding an agreed coalition candidate may be problematic, however. Mr Farry or the sitting Alliance MLA, Ms Eileen Bell, would argue that they stand the best chance of uniting the Yes vote in North Down. "We are now the only viable alternative for pro-agreement voters," said Mr Farry.
Mr Ervine said there were differences between the PUP, Alliance and the Women's Coalition but agreement could be reached. "We won't be running away from this," he added.
Mr Weir, who supported the Rev Martin Smyth in his failed leadership challenge to Mr Trimble last weekend and who lost the UUP whip in the Assembly over his No stance, appeared conscious that he may have to soften his public profile if he is to win enough unionist votes to put himself in a position to challenge Mr McCartney seriously.
To have a chance of winning he must appeal to both wings of unionism in North Down. He said yesterday he did not want his selection to be viewed as a "personality issue" regarding Mr Trimble's leadership, and spoke of the need for unionist unity.
Sitting MP Mr McCartney described Mr Weir's selection as another "torpedo into the bows" of Mr Trimble's leadership. He admired Mr Weir's anti-agreement stance but said that he (Mr McCartney) was the better candidate to represent the constituency and to act as the "ideologue of the No camp".
The prospects of a coalition opponent he described as a "sick joke".
