The North this month pulled back from the brink and there has been a sigh of relief in Dublin, Belfast, London and even Washington. But fears remain and the two sovereign governments are beavering away to ensure a peaceful transfer of most powers from Westminster to Stormont within the next three to six months. The Northern Secretary, Mo Mowlam, just back from Washington, will be in Dublin on Monday for informal talks in Iveagh House with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, David Andrews.
The meeting follows a similar one at the Irish Embassy in London just before Drumcree, when Dr Mowlam and Mr Andrews - with just ambassador Ted Barring- ton, one Irish official and two British - exchanged views over dinner on how peace and democracy could be progressed. This formula was seen as very successful and is now being repeated. A particular worry now is fringe paramilitary activity on both sides, including punishment beatings. The Settlements Bill is going through the Commons and will be passed by the Lords in the autumn. The SDLP and Sinn Fein are anxious that the new administration should then go ahead immediately, with ministries being allocated and cross-Border bodies properly identified. The unionists want to delay until next year because by then First Minister David Trimble hopes for progress on decommissioning (without which he is against sitting down with Sinn Fein), and less internal dissent.
And as for the jobs, Trimble and Seamus Mallon are already accounted for and it would appear John Hume doesn't want one, concentrating instead on Westminster and Europe. The three other unionist ministers will be John Taylor, Ken Maginnis and either Reg Empey or Dermot Nesbitt; the three other SDLP positions will be chosen from Joe Hendron, Mark Durkan, Brid Rodgers and Eddie McGrady; and Sinn Fein and the DUP are selfevident - Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, and Ian Paisley and Peter Robinson.