By Sarah Collins - 1st April 2008
Irish MEP Jim Higgins has said prime minister Bertie Ahern’s announcement that he will step down bodes well for a positive vote on the Lisbon treaty.
"It’ll considerably enhance the prospect of the Lisbon treaty being adopted in a referendum," Higgins told theparliament.com.
Ahern announced his resignation on Wednesday – although he won’t step down until 6 May – after coming under fire from opposition leaders on the latest allegations about his personal finances.
A tribunal in Dublin is investigating claims that the taoiseach received payments from property developer Owen O’Callaghan in the 1990s, when Ahern was finance minister, a claim that Ahern strongly denies.
"There was a tendency on the part of opposers of the Lisbon treaty to use the fact of Bertie’s woes in the tribunal to vote against it," Higgins said.
"There was a danger that they would see the referendum as a vote of no confidence in the taoiseach."
The resignation means that Ahern will be gone by the time a putative vote on the Lisbon treaty could have taken place.
Many speculated that Ireland would hold a vote in the second week of June, but Higgins, a member of the opposition Fine Gael party, thinks this can no longer be the case.
"Fianna Fáil as a party will be more seized by the leadership issue than by the Lisbon treaty. The government would be well advised to postpone a vote until late autumn," he said.
But Ahern’s party colleague and UEN co-president Brian Crowley thinks that Ahern’s resignation will not affect the progress of the treaty.
"I don’t think it has any great effect because all the major parties are supporting it. The vote will be predicated on our involvement in the EU, and continued growth and economic activity."
"As one of the longest-serving members of the council, Bertie Ahern was present at all the negotiations of former treaties. On a personal level, it’s very sad to see him stepping down."
Ahern was twice re-elected as prime minister, serving 11 years in the post. He is just one year into his third term.
His success story is widely regarded as the Northern Irish peace process, and he has been praised by several politicians for his dedication to the cause.
"His greatest contribution has been finding a solution on Northern Ireland and including the EU in that solution by founding the peace programme," said Crowley.
And Northern Irish deputy first minister Martin McGuinness added that "few people have given as much of their time and energy to the peace process here as Bertie Ahern".
"He has been deeply involved for many years and the personal input that he made was reflected when he came straight from the graveside of his own mother to participate in a particularly delicate stage of the negotiations."
Ahern has also been touted for the EU’s top job – the new post of president of the European council, which will come into force after the ratification of the Lisbon treaty in 2009.
Crowley says he doesn’t know if Ahern has been put forward for the position.
“As somebody with a vast experience at Irish and European level – he is the longest-serving leader on the European council – he would be a fantastic candidate, if that’s what he wants.”
But Higgins thinks it may be a while before Ahern’s candidacy could be taken seriously.
"His name is very much in the public arena, but there is no prospect of that happening until we have a definitive report from the tribunal on his finances."
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