The thorny issue of punishing Sinn Féin for the future sins of the IRA wasdelaying a deal at Hillsborough late last night, writes Gerry Moriarty,Northern EditorAnalysis
The Taoiseach, the British Prime Minister and pro-Belfast Agreement parties came in search of a deal. Late last night they were preparing to leave with a "shared understanding" and a postponed election.
Something of a flat Pancake Tuesday at first appearance but au contraire, said the spinners. "We'll get there", they said, "but not just yet".
Mr Blair even stood up the British queen and the Russian foreign minister to remain at Hillsborough for an extra day.
So, with such commitment and with everything so close and only two items out of scores of others causing serious problems - sanctions, and whether IRA decommissioning would be visible or in secret - could the politicians not do better than a "shared understanding"?
This understanding was within inches of a deal and should not be dismissed, sources told us.
The whisper at Hillsborough Castle last night was that there could be some interesting choreography in the next few weeks involving P. O'Neill, Gerry Adams and David Trimble. But still delicate detail to be worked out.
There were no guarantees that Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionists would blink on the final issue of sanctions.
The Taoiseach and Prime Minister and the parties were at one in agreeing progress had been made.
They believed in the period ahead the final detail would be thrashed out and that an agreement, which would involve "pain and gain" for all sides, would be approved. And to facilitate movement in the next few weeks they planned to postpone the election, their spokespeople told us.
One can understand the logic of that postponement, but there is always danger when politicians start putting back deadlines. As behind-the-scenes work continues it seems almost certain that the opportunity for a deal afforded by St Patrick's week in Washington will be lost.
Instead of endorsing a deal President George Bush will be exhorting the parties to tie up the loose ends.
The curious thing about these two days of hard talks chaired by Mr Ahern and Mr Tony Blair was that the big issues such as demilitarisation and the IRA going out of business seemed agreed.
There was also great progress on matters such as devolving criminal justice and policing to the Northern Executive, IRA fugitives and an over-arching verification commission comprising members from Northern Ireland, the Republic, Britain and the US to oversee the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
It was the trickery of devising schemes to utterly convince Ulster Unionists that the IRA was genuine this time that was posing the roadblock.
Officials and politicians were striving to find a compromise around the issue of sanctions. That was what kept the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister so late at Hillsborough.
Even Sinn Féin came up with a proposal which unkind souls claimed was filched from an idea floated by the SDLP leader, Mr Mark Durkan, on Monday.
It involved an Assembly sub-group dealing with any complaints against Executive ministers and Assembly members. The Belfast Agreement Implementation Group, whose members come from the two governments and the parties, would also be involved and individual MLAs could be penalised if they were in breach of their code of office, according to Sinn Féin.
But Sinn Féin could not be answerable for any alleged IRA transgressions, the party insisted. "We are not looking down the road of Sinn Féin being held accountable for an organisation over which it has no authority or control," said a spokesman.
The Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, who is certain of an organic link between the two organisations, interpreted this as Sinn Féin conceding the principle of sanctions but refusing to factor the IRA into the equation. The issue is still a "deal-breaker" as far as he is concerned.
Equally, he said, the IRA must jump first before Ulster Unionists would decide whether to ratify a new deal.
"No promises this time. There has got to be action, and then we will make a judgment," he said.
The final resolution may be around the IRA, Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionists "jumping together".
British and Irish officials worked hard late last night to try and convince Ulster Unionists and Sinn Féin to agree to some middle ground that would break the impasse.
Whatever the final package it must provide "clarity and certainty", Mr Ahern and Mr Blair agreed - no more winks and nods.
The hope now is that the sanctions matter can be addressed through the verification commission which, according to sources, would report to the two governments and the First and Deputy First Ministers, and would have the power to penalise, up to exclusion from the Executive and Assembly, any MLAs in breach of commitments.
The Taoiseach and Prime Minister believe it is worth gambling on a deal by providing limited extra time for the parties to tie down the final detail, and for the IRA to deliver the necessary words and the goods.