The findings of today's Irish Times/TNS mrbi opinion poll seem to offer a contradictory verdict on the recent breakdown of negotiations on the final implementation of the Belfast Agreement. Some 45 per cent of voters believe that the IRA has not made clear its intentions to end all paramilitary activities. Some 31 per cent believe that it has and 24 per cent do not know.
Yet, the president of Sinn Féin, Mr Gerry Adams, is the second most popular leader in the State, with a four percentage point increase in his satisfaction rating over the past three months. Alone among the smaller parties in this poll, Sinn Féin has held its level of support.
And the Ulster Unionist Party - not Sinn Fein nor the IRA - is seen by 35 per cent of voters as most to blame for the breakdown of the recent negotiations which led to the postponement of the Assembly elections.
It is difficult to decipher the rationale of voters in arriving at these conclusions. The poll was conducted last Monday and Tuesday when the confusing allegations relating to the double agent Stakeknife - or Steak Knife as he was originally code-named by Britain's Ministry of Defence - were at their height.
Clearly, based on today's poll figures, about one-third of voters believe that the commitment of Sinn Féin and the IRA is greater than that of the Ulster Unionist Party to the peace process and the Belfast Agreement underpinning it.
This could be a contributory factor to the 35 per cent of voters who blame Mr David Trimble's party most for the breakdown of the recent negotiations. Blame is attributed equally to the British Government and the Republican movement -IRA (10 per cent) and Sinn Féin (5 per cent) - for the breakdown.
In any case, the apportionment of blame in this manner will do little to move forward the political process in Northern Ireland over the summer months. Furthermore, the continuing Stakeknife allegations will only add to the paranoia and disquiet within Sinn Féin at a time when it should be using its influence to put further pressure on the IRA to satisfactorily respond to the question about ending all paramilitary activities.
The allegations about a double agent within the IRA have fuelled conspiracy theories, not just within the Republican movement. Mr Adams is not alone in wondering who and what agenda has been served by the publication of these allegations. And how does it fit into the current political vacuum? With the results of today's opinion poll, it behoves the two governments, once again, to consolidate the political process as quickly as possible.