Word: irelanders
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...like he intends to resign as leader of the Ulster Unionists too. He was essentially reelected because everyone knew he had this letter of resignation pending and they should just let it play out. But he's unlikely to resign his seat in the British parliament or his Northern Ireland assembly seat...
...Sinn Fein did well in the recent elections, both in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland. They won more seats than they had before and out-polled the SDLP (Social Democratic and Labor Party) slightly. Their being intransigent on weapons hasn't hurt them politically, and as long as they don't use the weapons they can say they're doing enough under the agreement, while at the same time fracturing the Unionists. That's the optimistic view, the other is that this turns into another long slanging match...
...There is some concern that all of the Unionists, not just Trimble, may resign from the Northern Ireland Governing Authority. If he is the only one who resigns, the British and Irish governments have until August 12 to find an agreement to keep the government from collapsing. But if they all resign, the governments will have to move much faster and it will all be more of a mess. It's possible that some kind of a deal can be worked out, but I think it's unlikely...
...never going to be doomed. In some ways it's built into the assumptions of the place. Northern Ireland is much more prosperous now, and the generation of people that wanted to throw bombs and kill people is essentially all grandfathers now. They've come to the fundamental political decision that they're going to live together some way or another. That doesn't prevent hotheads from making life unpleasant for people, but I think it's unlikely that we're going to have big bombing campaign or an increase in paramilitary actions. I don't think there...
...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 over the last 25 years - to a net financial contributor, thanks to its booming economy. It would be a harsh result for the poor countries of Eastern Europe that are desperate...