Mr David Hoey hopes to do to Mr David Trimble what another relatively unknown unionist, Mr Lee Reynolds, did to Lord Molyneaux nine years ago - prepare the ground for dislodging him as party leader.
Mr Hoey, a close ally of Trimble opponent Mr David Burnside, admits he has no leadership ambitions even though he will challenge Mr Trimble for the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party next Saturday.
A management consultant from Coleraine, Co Derry, who played an important role in resolving tensions between the Apprentice Boys and nationalists in Derry, he is the classic stalking horse.
Mr Hoey's job is to provide an opportunity for those who want to oust Mr Trimble as leader to vote for him, knowing that this could open the door for a more senior unionist figure to seize the crown. That figure could be Sir Reg Empey.
The senior Ulster Unionist Mr Michael McGimpsey said the leadership challenge was "about some people in the party trying to take the UUP back to the failed policies over 20 years ago of integrationism.
"I really wish those people who are manipulating David Hoey would have the courage to come out from behind him . . . their challenge is dishonest and underhand."
Mr Hoey says if he defeats Mr Trimble at the gathering of the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC), he will stand aside so that a senior unionist can take the helm.
He obviously believes that even if he does not command the majority of votes next Saturday, he can sufficiently damage Mr Trimble so that in the months ahead he will be forced to resign. That could come about by the party grandees urging Mr Trimble to go, or by Mr Trimble accepting that he has fought the good fight and it is time to move to the House of Lords or perhaps a big job in Europe.
Mr (now Lord) Molyneaux won the UUC vote in 1995, but Mr Reynolds took 88 votes from the 800 or so delegates present. The message appeared clear to Mr Molyneaux. Five months later, on his 75th birthday, he resigned as leader and paved the way for the Upper Bann MP Mr Trimble, rather against expectations, to take over.
When Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, Ms Arlene Foster and Ms Norah Beare defected to the DUP earlier this year they took a number of the UUC delegates with them. But it seems reasonable to assume there are more than 88 delegates remaining on the UUC who want to see the back of Mr Trimble. It would require dramatic defections from Mr Trimble's camp next week for Mr Hoey to win, however.
So far the most obvious leader in waiting is the East Belfast Assembly member, Sir Reg Empey, who earlier this week said he would seek the leadership only if Mr Trimble stepped aside.
Mr Trimble insists he has no intention of standing aside.
He has a duty to the party and the people of Northern Ireland to remain at his post, he says. Why? Because he is convinced there is no one else in the party who could fill his shoes.
So, if Sir Reg or any other Ulster Unionist wants the top position, it seems they will have to convene yet another UUC showdown. Mr Trimble has won all such showdowns and his supporters say he is primed and armed for all confrontations.
