PETER ROBINSON is a unionist action man. He has led loyalist incursions into the Republic, attended rallies where men marched in paramilitary style uniforms, and posed with a Kalashnikov rifle in Israel.
He has not minced his words either. Dick Spring, John Hume, Gerry Adams and a whole host of others have been targeted. But the DUP deputy leader and MP for East Belfast is facing his first Westminster challenge from the Ulster Unionists in 18 years.
He knows that his enemies are avidly awaiting his downfall. "The Northern Ireland Office, Dublin, and the pannationalist front would be particularly pleased to see me defeated. The Irish Times would be keen to have me out of the road, too," he says.
But his opponents should not put the champagne on ice. Defeat does not feature on Mr Robinson's political landscape. With a razor sharp intellect, great organisational abilities and an eye for detail, he is one of unionism's most talented leaders. He is also a prolific constituency worker.
Catholics account for only 6 per cent of the population of east Belfast - the lowest proportion of any constituency in the North. They are concentrated mainly in the Short Strand.
East Belfast stretches from refined Cherry Valley to the bottom of the Newtownards Road, where the UDA headquarters is located. It is home to the shipyard and Short Brothers.
Mr Robinson's main challengers are Mr Reg Empey of the Ulster Unionists and Mr Jim Hendron of Alliance. Alliance normally polls well here but the party's leader, Lord Alderdice, is barred from running since his elevation to the House of Lords.
Mr Empey says recent constituency changes bringing in 11,000 voters from Strangford and North Down will benefit him. The PUP, which received 10 per cent of the poll in the Forum elections, isn't standing, and Mr Empey hopes to get many of its votes.
PUP activists are urging their supporters to back the UUP because of Mr Robinson's "negative" attitude to the fringe loyalist parties at talks.
However, Mr Robinson (48) should romp home comfortably. He says that Mr Empey is "not a popular, charismatic local figure" and had to wait to the seventh count to be elected in the last council elections, whereas he always tops the poll.
DUP supporters are also unimpressed with their UUP rival, whom they call "Mr Empty". Mr Robinson is often described as a stern, steely man but he has a dry sense of humour. He says that he is receiving a warm reception from voters, with some people even coming to the door in their underwear.
But he hasn't found himself in quite as embarrassing a situation as his party leader. Dr Paisley once walked into a house on the Shankill to find "a lady in the front room putting on her bloomers".