Mr David Trimble will address his Ulster Unionist Party annual conference today knowing he faces another divisive meeting of his ruling Ulster Unionist Council in two weeks' time despite IRA decommissioning having begun.
After what was described as "an ill-tempered" meeting of senior party members yesterday evening the anti-Belfast Agreement wing of the party rejected an appeal by the Yes bloc to abandon plans to call an extraordinary UUC meeting in a fortnight.
Having seen the IRA start putting weapons beyond use today's conference should have been a celebratory affair for Ulster Unionists but this latest attempt to dictate what strategy on arms he must follow will further expose the Yes/No divisions.
Anti-agreement unionists hope the ruling 860-member UUC will tie Mr Trimble down to imposing further sanctions against Sinn FΘin should the IRA fail to complete decommissioning by February, when the remit of Gen John de Chastelain's decommissioning body is due to run out.
In his address to today's conference Mr Trimble is expected to insist again that decommissioning is essential to the working of the agreement. It is likely however that he will wish to avoid making any statements that would be perceived as an ultimatum or deadline, because virtually all pro-agreement politicians believe this to be counter-productive.
At party headquarters yesterday Mr Jeffrey Donaldson MP and former Young Unionists chairman Dr Philip Weir argued that the party must maintain the pressure on the IRA, up to and including threatening sanctions against Sinn FΘin.
Most of the 38 UUP members at the meeting were Trimble supporters. Mr Trimble argued that he wanted to see full paramilitary decommissioning but that the strategy he was driving was the best way forward, according to Dr Weir.
Dr Weir said some people at the meeting accused him of treachery and of seeking to undermine the leadership, a claim Dr Weir denied.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach Mr Ahern repeated on UTV last night that Fianna Fβil could not coalesce with Sinn FΘin after the general election next year because of its link with the IRA.
"We have a written Constitution that states that anyone who participates in our administration must adhere totally and absolutely to full recognition, and full observance, of the Garda S∅ochβna and our Army," he said.
