THE Progressive Democrats sought clarification from Fianna Fail yesterday that a ceasefire would have to be in place before a future FF-PD coalition government would meet Sinn Fein or loyalist leaders.
Senior advisers close to Ms Mary Harney and Mr Bertie Ahern were in contact after the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, expressed surprise at the suggestion from the Fianna Fail leader on Saturday night that he would immediately "meet Sinn Fein, if elected, and I would meet the Northern Ireland loyalist leaders, as well as all the political leaders".
Mr Bruton laid heavy emphasis on the North in two RTE interviews yesterday designed to set out the Rainbow Coalition's campaign platform and distance himself from the conflicting evidence given to the beef and Dunnes payments tribunals about the conduct of Fine Gael fundraising. The Taoiseach also took the unusual step of confirming that the general election will be called this week for early June.
In the first skirmish in the election campaign, which formally starts on Thursday, Mr Bruton stated on RTE's This Week programme that no Taoiseach, including Mr Albert Reynolds, ever met Sinn Fein while they were supporting a current IRA campaign of violence. "I won't meet Sinn Fein until there's a ceasefire," he added.
His statement brought an immediate response from the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Ahern, which served to cause further confusion. "In the context of a ceasefire, I would be prepared to meet the elected representatives of both Sinn Fein and the loyalist parties in acknowledgment of their democratic mandate and in order to hasten the establishment of a lasting cessation of violence, for which objective ground already exists," Mr Ahern said.
When the ambiguity in this sentence was pointed out, Mr Ahern, in a further clarification, said it meant he would be prepared to meet the elected representatives of both Sinn Fein and the loyalist parties in the context of a ceasefire "being in place". Any such meeting would be in acknowledgment of their democratic mandate and in order to hasten the establishment of "a lasting peace".
"Obviously, the feasibility of holding such meetings could be materially prejudiced by the commission of further acts of paramilitary violence," Mr Ahern also stated in his first statement.
Launching her party's candidates for the election, the PD leader, Ms Harney, made reference to Mr Ahern's remarks. "There is a difference of emphasis and a difference of language," she said. She added that, as she understood it, Mr Ahern was talking in the context of a ceasefire.
In his interviews, the Taoiseach said he was very surprised by Mr Ahern's suggestion that he would meet Sinn Fein immediately. "He didn't say that there would have to be a ceasefire first. Perhaps that was just an omission on his part but, if it was, it was a very serious one because one of the fundamental beliefs I have as a politician, and it is a founding belief of this State as well, that you cannot, compromise, you cannot make a blurred line between parties that don't use violence and parties that support the use of violence."
Meanwhile, Mr Bruton stated that he expected a final decision to be taken on the timing of the election before the end of the week. The Coalition would like to see the Dail resume at the end of next month to complete legislation before the summer break. These comments were widely interpreted to mean that the three Coalition leaders will formally decide on Tuesday to dissolve the Dail on Thursday.
It is also planned to hold a joint meeting of the three Coalition parliamentary parties in a Dublin hotel after the dissolution. The three leaders will present the Coalitions common manifesto to TDs and, simultaneously, publish it. The media will be invited to attend the joint Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left meeting. The manifesto contains 20 principles of agreement on which the Rainbow will campaign for a return to Government.
