Word: aherne
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...Irish ambush, while Le Monde called it the Irish alert. Both were right. In the curious way that democracy has of upsetting the best-laid plans of the proud and powerful, a strange coalition of Greens, anti-abortion activists, Irish nationalists and detractors of Prime Minister Bertie Ahern voted 54-46% against ratifying the European Union's Nice Treaty, and in so doing, managed to throw the ungainly process of reforming and expanding the E.U. into chaos. As Ahern, embarrassed and chastened, scrambled last week to recover, delegates at the E.U. summit in Gothenburg wondered whether the no vote should...
...institutions. Privately, many senior E.U. leaders worry about its "democratic deficit" and institutional sclerosis. Even in public, European Commission President Romano Prodi said, "I wasn't enthusiastic the morning after Nice and haven't changed my view since." But at Gothenburg, the consensus was that it's up to Ahern, not the E.U., to figure out how to finesse the problem Ireland's pesky voters have created...
...presumably before calling another referendum in 2002. He knows he can certainly improve on the lackluster campaign the "yes" forces ran. Turnout was only 33%, allowing passionate minorities - anti-abortion activists, Greens worried that the new Rapid Reaction Force would undermine Irish neutrality, Sinn Fein members eager to weaken Ahern before the 2002 election - to swamp widespread but diffuse pro-European feelings. A similar anti-European coalition lost three earlier referendums, which gives Ahern some running room. On the other hand, Ireland is now on the cusp of a major shift, from being the E.U.'s biggest beneficiary - $30 billion...
...Professor Porter seemed to have an instinct for the fact that students like to be the initiators of the House activities here, but that an involved master could do some things students can’t,” Ahern wrote in an e-mail. They were both enthusiastic about Porter’s appointment, and especially noted the fact that he made a point of remembering peoples’ names...
Students Courtney M. Dankworth ‘01 and Rachel E. Ahern ‘02, both members of the Dunster Masters search committee, noted Porter’s easy interaction with students...