Mr Bruton's remarks at the Fine Gael ardfheis during the weekend left no doubt about the importance he attaches to building a bridge to the unionists in the North. Mr Trimble and Mr Taylor, as the inheritors of generations of suspicion and distrust, prefaced last night's meeting in Dublin with the leaders of the three Coalition parties by hesitating for weeks and firing volleys of verbal broadsides. But they too are under no illusion that, if politics are to play a role in altering the situation in the North for the better, some kind of axis - of understanding, of trust - needs to be established between the Government and themselves.
Without such an axis, the substantial list of issues that the unionists want to be addressed is in danger of being swamped by the language of imperatives they tend to use: "Dublin must..." In fact, there is a considerable amount of agreement on some basic matters between the two sides. The IRA receives no encouragement, tacit or otherwise, south of the Border, and is almost universally rejected though it is not easy to persuade unionists that this is so because it disturbs their sense of history.
Their acceptance that Dublin has a full commitment to security and ending political violence would make a useful contribution to better relations. Mr Bruton's speech on Saturday night is only the latest in a long line of assurances by heads of government in this State that unionists should by now have learned to take seriously. They are pushing at an open door regarding the introduction of legislation to verify decommissioning. But it is possible that events since the return to violence by the IRA have already begun to create a better understanding of the dynamics within which the Government is working to bring about a restoration of the ceasefire and enable Sinn Fein to enter democratic dialogue.
At this stage, during the process of proximity talks and preparation for June 10th, atmospheric change is more important than rehashing old arguments and demands. The marginal dispute over whether last night's encounter was historic or not illustrated the profound differences of perspective that need to be overcome. For the unionists, worried about the fear of change felt by their supporters, it was part of a routine of ministerial contacts going back to the 1920s; for the Government it broke new ground by being the first time a unionist delegation met a group of senior Dublin ministers for wide ranging talks.
The question, however, is not whether history was made but whether the foundations have been laid for a more fruitful working relationship based on trust and mutual awareness of the burden of history. Mr Rabin's famous phrase, "You make peace with your enemies, not your friends", has a particular relevance in view of Mr Taylor's claim, repeated in reply to a journalist when he arrived in Dublin last night, that the Tanaiste was a hate figure for unionists. It is probable that after the relationship between Dublin and London, the one between the Ulster Unionists and Dublin is the one that matters most for the success of the peace effort. Mr Taylor may have learned last night that he may not like, but he can still do business. So much the better if the discovery was mutual.