But Border poll call welcomed

BY LAURA FRIEL


It's an English parlour game as old as the opinions David Trimble appears determined to adhere to. Call my bluff, a now vintage television game show, requires each player to hoodwink the opposing team into believing a false definition of any given word. Subterfuge and the ability to keep a straight face while spinning a yarn, no matter how preposterous, are vital prerequisites.

As David Trimble stood on the platform in front of yet another Ulster Unionist Council meeting last Saturday, he must have been aware that unity of the party, facing elections with the DUP snapping at their heels, and his continuing leadership, might depend on the audience's evaluation of his performance.

In what some commentators have identified as a rather desperate attempt to ensure a large unionist turnout, Trimble called for a border poll on the question of a united Ireland to coincide with next year's Assembly elections.

"Consider the beauty of the poll," writes Gerry Moriarty of the Irish Times, "from Mr Trimble's tactical perspective. It would bring out middle ground unionism, particularly the notoriously apathetic bloc which seldom bothers to vote."

Of course, a unionist leader could only call for such a poll if he believed and could convince everyone else that the Union was 'safe'.

"The majority for the Union in Northern Ireland - Catholic, Protestant and non believer - is overwhelming," Trimble told party colleagues. Unionists have nothing to fear from such a poll said Trimble, which, he believed, "would put the issue of Irish unity to bed for a generation.

"I am confident of our position. It is time to stop talking down the Union. The Union is strong. Unionism has never been more respected. So let's call the republicans' bluff," urged Trimble. "Let's make it clear to nationalists that for the next generation the United Kingdom is here to stay."

And on what basis was the Ulster Unionist Party leader basing his optimistic appraisal of the Union? Well, first and foremost on a sectarian head count. Republicans "will be disappointed" in the yet to be published census figures. But as the census is likely to indicate, unionist reliance on 'majority' rule is becoming as precarious as Trimble's analysis. And failing a secure majority, there's always the bluff.

Trimble urged the audience to contrast, "the UK, a vibrant multi-ethnic, multi-national liberal democracy, the fourth-largest economy in the world, the most reliable ally of the United States in the fight against international terrorism - with the pathetic, sectarian, mono-ethnic, mono-cultural state to our south."

Such xenophobic claptrap may appeal to members of the Ulster Unionist Council but it will do nothing to enhance Trimble's standing in the wider political arena nor will it woo northern nationalists away from the desire to end partition. The predictable political and diplomatic outrage provoked by his comments was dismissed by the First Minster as people "over-reacting".

At a subsequent press conference, Trimble remained adamant that his description of the South as "pathetic" and "sectarian" was "the reality of the state".

"I think people should be aware of that and should not hide away from it," continued Trimble, unabashed. "Sometimes in politics harsh words are said but that is life, sometimes we have to hold a mirror to life."

Arrogant in either quite startling ignorance or blatant hypocrisy, Trimble dismissed a request to elaborate, his assertion was simply a "self evident fact". "Maybe you should go there and look at it," he told a journalist from Mayo.

"A lot of Northern nationalists themselves realise the limitations in the society to the south of us," he said, "I think that is the reason why a significant proportion of the people who would be culturally nationalist will, in the border poll, put their vote for the United Kingdom.

"There is nothing xenophobic in our tradition or outlook," Trimble told increasingly incredulous members of the press. "We are proud to be part of a power that has interests around the globe."

"We do not have the Drumcrees or the Garvaghy Roads of the north," was Bertie Ahern's terse response. "Thankfully we don't have that kind of sectarian divide down here."

Meanwhile, leading Protestant clergymen were expressing disbelief at Trimble's claims. "What on earth is he talking about?" asked Rev David Armstrong, from County Cork.

Trimble's remarks were "quiet opposite" said Rev Frank Sellar of Adelaide Road Presbyterian Church in central Dublin. "It is wrong to give the impression that Protestants in the South are longing to be British. That is not the case. We are glad to be Irish and proud to take our place in the world."

Sinn Féin and the SDLP welcomed Trimble's call for a border poll. "It has been decades since there was a popular assessment of this issue," said Alex Attwood of the SDLP.

"We welcome what is the opening gambit of a debate on the last great issue affecting the island of Ireland," said Sinn Féin national chairperson Mitchel McLaughlin. "It may be seen as an electoral ploy, but a poll would provide an opportunity for us to debate with unionists and shape a united Ireland that would be acceptable to them."