If the DUP surprises everybody and backs a deal, then not only will Sunak appear strong, he will come out looking like the consummate dealmaker that his three predecessors were not. Much is at stake for the Tory leader, writes Mark Paul in London
Sunak so far gives the impression only that he wants the DUP on board. Yet allies of his appear to have briefed the Times newspaper at the weekend that he is prepared to do a deal with Europe even if the DUP rejects it and decides to keep the Northern Ireland Assembly in abeyance.
There is a school of thought on the European side that Sunak, conscious that his critics paint him as a weakling, cannot be seen to back down to the DUP and the European Research Group, the Eurosceptic wing of his party that pushes the government to take a hard line in Brexit negotiations. Senior Brexiteers, on the other hand, seem convinced he will not do this, based upon what they have been told. Their vision of a strong Sunak would be for him to walk away from the talks unless the European Commission is prepared to fold entirely on the ECJ issue. But that would make him look weak to many other outsiders.
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