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Tributes flow as Paisley says he'll give up DUP job

The largest Protestant party in Northern Ireland scrambled yesterday to secure a seamless transfer of power after its firebrand leader Ian Paisley announced his departure, drawing tributes from all sides.

Paisley, whose agreement last year to share power with the Catholics of Sinn Fein he so long decried surprised many, said on Tuesday he would step down as Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) head in May.

The 81-year-old said he would also resign as the assembly's first minister but remain as a member of the legislature and the British parliament in London.

"I could go on and on but I've decided to go," he said. "It's time to move on ... I came to this decision several weeks ago."

The DUP's deputy leader and the assembly's economy minister, Peter Robinson, 59, is the favorite to succeed. Northern Ireland Economy Minister Nigel Dodds, 49, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate. But a senior party source said that although in theory there could be a contest, in practice there will not be.

"If I was to wager money -- and I am not a betting man -- I would suspect Peter will be party leader," the unnamed source, described as "authoritative," told Britain's Press Association news agency.

"There would be a view after almost 29 years of waiting in the wings he has earned the right," the source said.

Robinson himself refused to be drawn, telling the BBC: "I don't think anybody is ruling themselves in or out -- there is not at this moment a vacancy."

And Paisley himself ruled out anointing a successor.

"This is not the Church of Rome," he told Ulster Television in characteristic style. "This is not Apostolic succession and I have no right to say who will succeed me."

Political leaders and commentators paid tribute to Paisley, highlighting his decision to finally compromise after nearly 40 years of vowing never to surrender to the forces of Irish republicanism.

"The man famous for saying `no' will go down in history for saying `yes,'" former British prime minister Tony Blair said said.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern called Paisley's decision to go "a watershed in the history of Ireland."

Paisley has been under pressure from within the DUP in recent weeks. Last month, his son, Ian Paisley Jr, quit as a minister over claims of improper links with a businessman.

And his cosy relationship with Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness -- his deputy in the assembly and a former member of the Irish Republican Army -- has also come under scrutiny.

The pair -- whose working relationship would have been unthinkable even a year ago -- have never been seen to shake hands but are often seen laughing together, leading to them being called "the Chuckle Brothers."
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