Word: irished
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...last month's Irish "no" vote on the E.U.'s Lisbon Treaty has triggered a rumbling uncertainty over the future of Europe's institutions. Instead of launching ostentatious initiatives, Sarkozy is likely to have his hands filled dealing with the fallout from Ireland. Add to that slowing growth, rising inflation and soaring fuel prices, and Sarkozy's legendary reserves of energy and enthusiasm will be tested to the limit as he tries to clear the climate of angst smothering Europe...
...neither Sarkozy nor anyone else has yet concocted a way out of the mess created by the Irish "no." His task will be all the more complicated after the obstreperous Polish President Lech Kaczynski announced Monday that he would not sign the Treaty, saying the document was pointless after Irish voters rejected it. Sarkozy and other leaders agreed last week to push the treaty forward in the 26 other member states, with an eye to the possibility that Ireland might eventually be compelled to put the question to the people again with more success...
...Sarkozy is due to travel to Ireland on July 11 to hear firsthand the concerns of Irish voters, but beyond that there is little he can do until October, when Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen tells the other E.U. leaders whether a second Lisbon Treaty referendum is possible...
...omens are not good. Sarkozy has already raised hackles by warning the E.U. would not be able to enlarge without the Lisbon Treaty, and by blaming E.U. Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson for the Irish "no" vote. He has also vowed to defend the E.U.'s controversial agricultural subsidies, threatening to block any deal at the World Trade Organization that jeopardizes Europe's farming industry. And for someone who sets so much on his emollient charm, Sarkozy still has a grating relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose support is crucial if any of the French initiatives are to succeed...
John Banville is an Irish writer of austere, erudite, literary novels. A Booker winner, he's famous for being relentlessly highbrow. Benjamin Black writes mystery novels; his slender, nasty The Lemur (Picador; 132 pages) appears this month. The funny thing about Black is that he and Banville are the same person...