If You Ask Me
with Lindsay Allen

Super-casinos? You can forget Manchester, Birmingham and London! If it’s big time gambling for high stakes you’re after, this is the place to be. Over the last ten years here we’ve witnessed more bum deals, brinkmanship, slight of hand, double bluffing and upping of the ante, than you would see in a lifetime in Las Vegas or Monte Carlo!

And now, in the luxurious surroundings of an exclusive club on the outskirts of Dundonald, preparations are being finalised for the Big Game. High rollers from all over Northern Ireland have been making their way here all week to sit around the table and gamble away their political futures.

Rumour has it that the pot is enormous - billions of pounds are being talked about, and everybody is looking for a slice of the action.
However, Mark Durkan is almost busted, Reg Empey lost his shirt early on and David Ford doesn’t really have the sort of stake money needed for a game of this size.

Bob McCartney was wiped out in a game of Russian Roulette last week, and is completely out of it.

So it comes down to three main players - Peter, Ian and Gerry.
Peter has a strong hand and lots of cash, but the other two think he’s bluffing.

Ian knows that Gerry certainly isn’t holding any Kings or Queens, but regularly accuses him of keeping a couple of Knaves up his sleeve.
All eyes are on the Big Man.

Will he go for broke and risk losing the whole pot, or will he do a deal with Gerry and split it between them? So far the only sound in the smoke filled room is the trickle of water charges and the ticking of the clock!

Meanwhile, in the world outside, it appears that after the long winter of our discontent, the slow political thaw is continuing and there may even be signs of an early Spring. The recent IMC report confirmed that the PIRA are not engaged in terrorist activity and are committed to political progress.

On the British side, demilitarisation by the army is ahead of schedule. More significantly, perhaps, following the discovery of two bodies in Belfast on Monday, Sinn Fein have called publicly for nationalists to give information to the PSNI.

So with everything so delicately balanced, there was a sharp intake of breath when the Guardian reported that Peter Mandelson had accused Tony Blair of "unreasonable and irresponsible" behaviour over "concessions" to Sinn Fein. There was a time when that might have been enough to derail the entire process. But now there is too much to lose.

The two parties who have fought their way to the table by their implacable opposition to all things British on the one hand and all things Irish on the other, now have to agree to disagree. The old arguments are on hold and a respectful silence falls over the proceedings, while money talks.

If You Ask Me Archive