Beleaguered Irish PM quits
Time for swan song: Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern (L) and Northern Ireland's First Minister Ian Paisley attend the official opening of the Battle of the Boyne site in Drogheda, Ireland, yesterday. Bertie Ahern, one of Europe's longest-serving leaders, was preparing to step down yesterday after admitting his premiership was overshadowed by alleged wrongdoing. Picture: AFP
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
IRISH Prime Minister Bertie Ahern visited an iconic battle site yesterday hours before leaving office, praised for helping bring peace to Northern Ireland, but under a cloud over alleged financial wrongdoing.
Ahern, one of Europe's longest-serving leaders, was joined at the site of the Battle of the Boyne by Ian Paisley, outgoing leader of the power-sharing government which took office in Belfast last year.
"We both believe that we should live in peace in this island in which we find ourselves. We both intend as far as we can that there shall be peace and it shall be maintained," said Northern Ireland First Minister Paisley.
Ahern, 56, elected Taoiseach (prime minister) in 1997, was to hand over his seal of office to President Mary McAleese later in the day following the Battle of the Boyne ceremony.
At the 1690 battle Britain's Protestant King William III beat the deposed Roman Catholic James II at the River Boyne west of Drogheda.
For generations of Protestant loyalists in British-ruled Northern Ireland "Remember 1690," has been a slogan used by Orangemen who march every year on the July 12 anniversary.
Ahern announced his surprise resignation last month amid growing pressure over an investigation by an anti-corruption tribunal. He strongly denies any wrongdoing and says he wants to clear his name.
His successor, Finance Minister Brian Cowen, was set to be nominated today in the Dail, Dublin's lower house of parliament.
Ahern said yesterday his contribution to a peace deal that ended four decades of violence in neighbouring Northern Ireland was his "proudest achievement."
"I thank God that we have closed the bloody chapters in our history and opened a new book of reconciliation and renewal," Ahern wrote in the Irish Times newspaper.
"We live now in a new Ireland with immense possibilities rooted in the unity and friendship of its people."
Ahern also called for the Irish to vote "Yes" to the European Union's key Lisbon Treaty in a June 12 referendum.
"The European Union has played a central role in the development of Ireland as one of the most dynamic economies in the world," Ahern wrote:
"I am convinced that the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty is imperative to the future economic and social progress of the Irish people."
Ireland is the only EU member to hold a referendum on the treaty and the vote is being watched keenly across the 27-nation bloc as a rejection could scupper the treaty altogether.
Hours before his formal resignation yesterday, Ahern joined Paisley for the joint opening of the iconic Battle of the Boyne site north of Dublin in County Louth.
Paisley, 82, is also stepping down later this month after decades at the frontline of the turbulent world of Northern Irish politics.
AFP
Ahern, one of Europe's longest-serving leaders, was joined at the site of the Battle of the Boyne by Ian Paisley, outgoing leader of the power-sharing government which took office in Belfast last year.
"We both believe that we should live in peace in this island in which we find ourselves. We both intend as far as we can that there shall be peace and it shall be maintained," said Northern Ireland First Minister Paisley.
Ahern, 56, elected Taoiseach (prime minister) in 1997, was to hand over his seal of office to President Mary McAleese later in the day following the Battle of the Boyne ceremony.
At the 1690 battle Britain's Protestant King William III beat the deposed Roman Catholic James II at the River Boyne west of Drogheda.
For generations of Protestant loyalists in British-ruled Northern Ireland "Remember 1690," has been a slogan used by Orangemen who march every year on the July 12 anniversary.
Ahern announced his surprise resignation last month amid growing pressure over an investigation by an anti-corruption tribunal. He strongly denies any wrongdoing and says he wants to clear his name.
His successor, Finance Minister Brian Cowen, was set to be nominated today in the Dail, Dublin's lower house of parliament.
Ahern said yesterday his contribution to a peace deal that ended four decades of violence in neighbouring Northern Ireland was his "proudest achievement."
"I thank God that we have closed the bloody chapters in our history and opened a new book of reconciliation and renewal," Ahern wrote in the Irish Times newspaper.
"We live now in a new Ireland with immense possibilities rooted in the unity and friendship of its people."
Ahern also called for the Irish to vote "Yes" to the European Union's key Lisbon Treaty in a June 12 referendum.
"The European Union has played a central role in the development of Ireland as one of the most dynamic economies in the world," Ahern wrote:
"I am convinced that the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty is imperative to the future economic and social progress of the Irish people."
Ireland is the only EU member to hold a referendum on the treaty and the vote is being watched keenly across the 27-nation bloc as a rejection could scupper the treaty altogether.
Hours before his formal resignation yesterday, Ahern joined Paisley for the joint opening of the iconic Battle of the Boyne site north of Dublin in County Louth.
Paisley, 82, is also stepping down later this month after decades at the frontline of the turbulent world of Northern Irish politics.
AFP
Business Besides Oil
