IT might ultimately be necessary for a British government to appeal to the people of Northern Ireland over the heads of the parties there, Mr Paddy Ashdown has said.
In his interview with The Irish Times, the Liberal Democrat leader makes it clear he hopes that won't happen. Running against the established opinion of the democratic parties in the North would, he says, be "dangerous and risky".
But when asked if he has any sympathy with the view that the parties might be unable to agree and that London might have to impose a solution, Mr Ashdown said: "There can only be one safe foundation for lasting peace and that is voluntary agreement between the parties.
"At the same time, there is only so long that a government - that has responsibility to govern Northern Ireland and the responsibility to give a lead - can wait."
Mr Ashdown believes the developing gap between politicians and people in Britain opened earlier, and is wider, in the North: "I have never been entirely convinced that the politicians ... fully represent the views of the people."
London could only act, in the case of continuing disagreement between the parties, "if they are confident they are acting on behalf of the people".
But he warns: "What I'm confident about is that London cannot act over the heads of the people of Northern Ireland. It won't work that way."
On decommissioning weapons, Mr Ashdown says: "I would find it easier to deal with decommissioning if we were to accept there is a difference between arms which have a dual purpose, defence and offence, and arms which have a purely defensive purpose."
He continues: "Perhaps our mistake has been to treat decommissioning as an event, whereas I think it's a process.