Are the knives out for David Trimble?

Ulster Unionists are under pressure to leave Stormont

By BBC NI political correspondent Martina Purdy

It has been another pressured week for David Trimble.

Speculation is mounting that the knives are out once again, and the leader is about to face a challenge to his position or his policies, or both.

Mr Trimble dismissed the speculation, insisting he was not panicking, nor would he waste his time chasing his tail.

But others are in hot pursuit.

David Trimble: What does the future hold?

Mr Trimble went to Dublin this week to meet the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, but got little sympathy on the policing issue, which is set to come to a head in a few weeks when the policing legislation becomes law.

Nationalists will have been heartened by Mr Ahern's insistence there can be no dilution of Patten's recommendations.

There was also support from the US with presidential candidates George Bush and Albert Gore also calling for the full implementation of the Patten proposals.

The pressure on the government from unionism, however, is also huge.

The Ulster Unionist leadership is, in fact, facing a two-pronged sword. Decommissioning is once again creeping to the fore.

Jeffrey Donaldson: Call for party to quit Stormont

Ulster Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson and others in the anti-agreement camp are urging the party to abandon the executive - insisting the latest IRA gun-running court convictions in Florida are all the evidence needed of republican intentions.

While the government may opt to meet unionist concerns on policing - thereby incurring the wrath of nationalists as well as Dublin and Washington - delivering decommissioning is not within Tony Blair's gift.

Both the yes and no camps are demanding decommissioning.

Some believe it is the first significant move against Mr Trimble since the leadership challenge earlier this year

There is little doubt this is of concern to the unionist party.

But given the experience in the past, it is obvious that demands are not going to move the IRA.

There is a cynical view that the Trimble camp is positioning itself to blame republicans should the executive collapse.

Mr Donaldson for the first time this week, called on his fellow party officers to convene a special meeting of the Ulster Unionist ruling council to sanction a withdrawal from the executive.

Some believe it is the first significant move against Mr Trimble since the leadership challenge earlier this year.

Mr Donaldson is also warning that the party faces electoral meltdown - claiming its nine-strong team at Westminister could be reduced to just two or three at the next General Election.

Against this backdrop, the business of government continues - but for how long?