The uncertainty which has characterised the peace process in general has now become evident with regard to the operation of the new Northern Executive in particular.
But while a considerable amount of clarification will be required on matters of procedure - and there are clearly difficulties and troubles ahead - there is also a fair amount of confidence that the new coalition can be made to function.
This assumes, of course, that external developments such as the Ulster Unionist Council meeting in February or the IRA's ultimate stance on decommissioning do not blow the whole endeavour off course. One of the initial difficulties concerns the position of the Democratic Unionist Ministers, Mr Peter Robinson at the Department of Regional Development and Mr Nigel Dodds (Social Development).
DUP sources conceded that it was "a fairly difficult situation" and the party did not underestimate the difficulties. Mr Robinson and Mr Dodds would operate their departments and keep in regular contact with the First Minister, Mr David Trimble, the Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, and the Minister for Finance and Personnel, Mr Mark Durkan, and there would be meetings on matters of mutual interest with other Ministers, except for Mr Martin McGuinness and Ms Bairbre de Brun, of Sinn Fein.
The DUP men would treat the Sinn Fein Ministers "as if they were not there", and this implied non-attendance at meetings of the Executive. The DUP had no objection to discussions with representatives of the Republic on areas of mutual interest: "Friendly states should co-operate." But it would not become involved in the cross-Border implementation bodies, because the implementation of policy was a matter solely for each jurisdiction, acting separately.
Regarding attendance at the North-South Ministerial Council, DUP sources pointed out that there was provision in the Belfast Agreement for the First and Deputy First Minister to "make alternative arrangements" where a Minister refused to participate. The agreement provides that participation in the NSMC is an essential responsibility attaching to "relevant posts" in the Belfast and Dublin administrations.
Since it appears that none of the six cross-Border implementation bodies comes under the ministerial aegis of either Mr Robinson or Mr Dodds, they could well argue that they do not hold "relevant posts" and are therefore not obliged to attend the NSMC. The agreement also lays down that Ministers will have "full executive authority in their respective areas" within the terms of the overall broad programme, giving the DUP men a wide degree of autonomy.
Other parties will be faced with a dilemma. The pledge of office commits each Minister "to participate with colleagues in the preparation of a programme for government". The Good Friday pact lays down that the Executive will seek to agree a programme for government on an annual basis and, if the DUP fails to attend Executive meetings, it could be found to be in breach of the pledge of office.
But the UUP, for one, will be very reluctant to seek the DUP's expulsion, because it would only turn Mr Robinson and Mr Dodds into political martyrs.
A strict policy of abstention by the DUP could, however, prove to be self-defeating, as it is understood that the other parties would approve the programme for government in its absence. Happily for the DUP, no decisions on a programme for government with budgetary implications can be made for about six months, when the present budget expires.
Collective responsibility is a phrase that will not be found in the Belfast Agreement. This is the doctrine whereby Ministers, whatever their private views, must be loyal to cabinet decisions once they are taken. Given the highly-disparate nature of the new Executive, it would be extremely difficult to enforce collective responsibility: the thinking in the negotiations before Good Friday was that there should be a fairly loose arrangement.
During the talks, the UUP proposed that government in Northern Ireland be based on a system of committees, whose chairs might meet once or twice a year to "sign off" on costings.
While a cabinet structure emerged in the end, there is still a significant role for committees, which could be a very powerful dimension of government in the North, more like Senate committees on Capitol Hill than the Westminster model.
Each department has its own committee, which will have a scrutiny, policy development and consultation role and "will have a role in initiation of legislation". The political relationship between the new Minister for Agriculture, Ms Brid Rodgers, and the Rev Ian Paisley, who chairs the Agriculture Committee, will be worth watching.
There are European, rather than Westminster or Leinster House, overtones about the looseness of the proposed Stormont arrangements. Also, given that key decisions can be voted through on the basis of a "weighted majority" (60 per cent of Assembly members present in the chamber, including at least 40 per cent of unionists and nationalists, respectively), the UUP and SDLP, both of which have the requisite numbers, can secure the necessary support for any joint decision they desire.
Sinn Fein, ironically, has only one implementation body even partly under the auspices of its two Ministers, namely Food Safety, which is mainly an Agriculture matter, but has a peripheral bearing on Ms de Brun's Ministry of Health.
However, Health and Mr McGuinness's portfolio of Education are among the six areas specified for North-South co-operation. It has also emerged that the Sinn Fein Ministers will have substantial budgets under their control; almost £2 billion in Ms de Brun's case, and £1 billion for schools, which will be the responsibility of Mr McGuin ness.
More than half the discretionary, i.e. non-security, budget will be at the disposal of the Sinn Fein Ministers. The bulk of the celebrated "block grant" from Westminster will be largely in republican hands.
One of the busiest people in the coming period will be Mr John Semple, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, who has the additional post of Secretary to the Executive. He will have an important function in keeping channels of communication open between the different parties, advising the First and Deputy First Ministers and trying to ensure that this daring new experiment runs smoothly.