Second referendum defeat for Ahern
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and his coalition government colleagues were today assessing the implications of a second referendum defeat in less than a year.
The nationwide poll result last night confirmed rejection of Mr Ahern’s bid to amend Ireland’s written constitutional ban on abortion, guaranteeing the continuation of the barrier to termination except in cases where the life of the mother is shown to be at risk.
Added to another plebiscite snub last June - when the electorate embarrassingly turned down the Nice Treaty for European Union expansion which forced the label of two-time losers on the government just weeks before Mr Ahern will be obliged to call a general election.
Recent opinion pointers have suggested Mr Ahern’s Fianna Fail party will at least hold on to its current parliamentary strength at an election after the government’s record period of office in Irish peacetime history.
But the latest referendum setback, recorded despite the best efforts of Mr Ahern and his cabinet team, could count against their electoral prospects by damaging morale, according to some political analysts in Dublin.
Mr Ahern was launching his fightback tonight at the opening of Fianna Fail’s annual conference in Dublin. The likelihood of his facing any direct criticism from Fianna Fail followers of the way the referendum campaign was run is small, but questions are likely to be asked behind the scenes.
Mr Ahern will attempt to put the poll result behind him when he delivers his keynote conference address to the 6,000 delegates tomorrow night.
In accordance with tradition, the speech will be shown live on TV.
Meanwhile, pressure is set to be mounted on the government to seek a legislative way out of the abortion impasse created by the referendum vote.
Both of the main opposition parties moved swiftly after the poll declaration to make clear that would be their favoured option.
Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan - whose gamble of leading calls for a negative response to the abortion proposal paid off - also said: ‘‘Dealing with this issue through legislation will require leadership, something Mr Ahern has so far singularly failed to provide.’’.
And he went on to dispute government insistence that the referendum outcome would make no difference to the general election.
Labour Party chief Ruairi Quinn demanded abortion legislation, too, adding: ‘‘The outcome will mean a more tolerant and compassionate Ireland than would have been the case had the amendment been passed.’’
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams weighed in by calling the referendum returns ‘‘a victory for compassion and common sense’’.
Another member of his party said it had been a good day for women. For his part, Mr Ahern maintained ‘‘The people have had their say, and their view must be respected.
‘‘We need to address this problem irrespective of our differences in the referendum.’’
Just over 10,550 out of 1.2 million votes separated the Yes and No vote camps when the day-long counting from Wednesday’s poll was completed.
