Republicans are worried that the histrionics of the Unionists will lead the British government to back down and force unacceptable compromises on Sinn Feinn, says TIME London bureau chief Barry Hillenbrand. Sinn Fein is warning Tony Blair to stand firm.
Despite the rhetoric, the parties are in substantial agreement on most issues -- the sticking point is the powers of a proposed council linking Northern Ireland with the Republic in the south, which Unionists see as the slippery slope to a united Ireland. Hillenbrand believes that in the next day, Britains Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart, Bertie Ahern, will cook up a final deal, and then work hard to get it approved by both sides. Ripleys Believe It or Not fact: The contentious compromise proposals at the center of the furor between eight rival parties and two governments have, amazingly enough, been kept secret.