It was all wrong on the night

摘要

Everything, it seemed, had been re-hearsed. Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams and the Ulster Unionists' David Trimble had a deal on the IRA'S readiness for peace. Britain's Tony Blair and the Irish Republic's Bertie Ahern would turn up on October 21st, arm-in-arm, to bless the announcement of an election in Northern Ireland on November 26th. Downing Street duly announced it, and up the prime ministers turned. Lights, camera―and then the set collapsed. The dust will clear, but when the votes are counted they may show that moderate unionists have stayed at home in droves, and the only winner is the hardline Reverend Ian Paisley.