Rewrite the rules or burn the Agreement. These are the crude options presented to the Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, in the wake of Mr David Trimble's failure to be elected as First Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive yesterday. He, and the SDLP candidate for the position of Deputy First Minister, Mr Mark Durkan, were narrowly defeated when two dissident Ulster Unionist Party members, Mr Peter Weir and Ms Pauline Armitage, voted against them. Even the redesignation of the votes of the two Women's Coalition members failed to save the situation.
This was a bad day for Mr Trimble and the political process but the Belfast Agreement is not dead. "One should not regard today's decision as final. It is not. This process is not ended by it", Mr Trimble declared. Mr Martin McGuinness said: "The opponents of the peace process have had their say; they must not be allowed to have their way".
Dr Reid is faced with unenviable choices following yesterday's vote. Two basic options are being canvassed. Dr Reid can allow the five Alliance party representatives to redesignate as unionists and rerun the vote - thus boosting Mr Trimble's chances of success. Or, he can call fresh elections.
The notion of rewriting the rules in the fledgling democracy of Northern Ireland to facilitate the election of one individual as First Minister, is causing understandable concern. Weighted electoral procedures were carefully laid down for the Assembly to ensure that fundamental decisions would require majorities of cross-community support. To change them now, looks suspiciously like moving the goalposts and could inflict serious damage to the credibility of the voting arrangements.
Yet the fact remains that Mr Trimble received the support of 70 per cent of elected representatives in the Assembly - 100 per cent of nationalists and 49.2 per cent of unionists - and still failed to be elected. Most democratic politicians would be delighted to receive that level of support. Indeed, if Mr Ahern or Mr Blair secured the votes of 70 per cent of members of the Dβil or the House of Commons for their appointments, they would go down in the history books.
The alternative to redesignating the Alliance Party, is the calling of fresh Assembly elections. But only the politically naive could believe that this course would improve the situation. In the charged atmosphere of Northern Ireland, the likely outcome would be a hardening of positions with gains for Sinn FΘin and the DUP and a further weakening of the middle ground. What realistic chance then for the cross-community compromise that is central to any hope of progress in Northern Ireland?
The defeat of Mr Trimble is a setback for the Belfast Agreement. But it need not be the end. If Dr Reid has to alter the rules to defend it, then so be it. It is the honourable course.