THE Northern Ireland Assembly elections, which last week gave the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) the undisputed title of largest party in Northern Ireland, have left its leader, the Revd Ian Paisley, with the dilemma of his legacy to the Province over which he has wielded such influence for 40 years.

Mr Paisley’s party now has 36 seats in the new Assembly, an increase of four — eight seats more than its nearest rival Sinn Fein, which also increased its total by four. His dilemma is whether to share power with the old enemy Sinn Fein, or, at 81, be the leader who handed Northern Ireland over to the scenario he has railed against for so long — a greater say by the government of the Irish Republic in the internal affairs of the North.

Since the election, Tony Blair, the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and the Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Hain, have insisted that the 26 March deadline for the new Assembly is the only alternative to dissolution and a return to direct rule — this time with a greater input from the Irish Republic.

After the St Andrews agreement, this outcome is legally binding, Mr Hain said. It seems, however, that more money might unlock the impasse: both parties crave local government and their place within it; Bertie Ahern has offered up to €1 billion from the Republic’s national development plan for cross-border projects; and Gordon Brown’s offer of £50 billion made last November to a cross-party delegation is still on the table.

Either way, the increase in local-authority taxes, including water charges and rates, will concentrate the minds of an already ballot-weary electorate in the months to come.

Some spoke of the likelihood of a “shadow” assembly, going through the motions while the DUP finally makes up its mind over the next few months; but both governments rule this out. On Tuesday, in Strasbourg, the DUP MEP Jim Allister, one of a number of Paisley’s senior team who bitterly oppose any deal with Sinn Fein, again stated that the Republicans had to show more clearly their commitment to policing in the Province before they could share government.

Such are Mr Paisley’s problems with his own political flock. What he will do about his dilemma is as yet unclear. What is plain, from the governments’ point of view, is that, if he took a drink, he would now be in the Last Chance Saloon. The voters' message as recorded in the Belfast Telegraph the day after the count was: “Now get on with it”.