A bit of political legerdemain has pulled the Northern Ireland peace process back from the brink of collapse. The creative solution to divisions within the province's Protestant community is only a temporary response, however; all supporters of the peace process must redouble their efforts to overcome growing doubts about the viability of the Good Friday Accords.
Northern Ireland's power-sharing government collapsed last summer over complaints that the Irish Republican Army was not disarming as called for in the accords. Two weeks ago, the group began unprecedented "decommissioning" of its weapons in a bid to resume the peace process. In the vote last weekend to reinstall Mr. David Trimble, leader of the moderate Ulster Unionist Party, as the government's first minister, Mr. Trimble secured a majority of votes. He was one vote short of a majority in his own Unionist contingent, however, and the Good Friday Accords require that he win such approval.
To make up the difference, the five members of the Alliance Party, a nonaffiliated group, "joined" the UUP to give Mr. Trimble his majority. The quick reshuffle should do the trick, but it is a worrying sign in Northern Ireland's politics.