Will Reiss Step Down?

Will Mitchell Reiss, the Bush administration’s special envoy to Ireland, step down this fall and hand the job over to someone else?

That is the rumour doing the rounds in Washington, where Reiss has proven to be a dedicated battler on the Irish issue. However, the former top State Department official has returned to academic life and is no longer in Washington but in Williamsburg, Virginia at William and Mary College, some three hours away.

Reiss has very much stayed involved on the Irish question, but there is no doubt that without proximity to either the State Department or the White House, his usefulness is affected.

Indeed, he made clear his displeasure at the decision not to grant Sinn Fein’s North American representative Rita O’Hare a visa last week, but despite his best urging the State Department went ahead and banned her on very spurious grounds anyway.

If he leaves Reiss would be sorely missed. Like his predecessor Richard Haass he managed to fully acquaint himself with the problem, and indeed, became deeply and personally involved in the search for a solution.

Obviously, it would be fitting if there were a power-sharing executive in place when Reiss leaves, and he will certainly be working towards achieving that in the months ahead.

Also set to leave is Eric Green, Reiss’s deputy on Irish matters who is said to be moving to the U.S. Embassy in Turkey.

DUP Succession Race

During his recent visit to New York, Sinn Fein Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness made clear that one of the major stumbling blocks to a settlement in the North was not Ian Paisley himself, but members of his family.

He specifically cited Paisley’s wife Eileen and son Ian Junior, both of whom are supposedly adamantly opposed to any deal with Nationalists.

Eileen Paisley will shortly be named to the British House of Lords, making her Dame Eileen, one of those silly titles the British are so captivated by.

Meanwhile, Ian Junior will likely contest the leadership of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) when his father finally moves on. He will likely be in tough contest with Peter Robinson, head of the secular and more pragmatic wing of the DUP, with Robinson heavily favoured to succeed.

However, if for any reason Ian Junior won the day we could be looking at another generation before any peace process would work.

Paisley on The Mend

Speaking of Paisley, it seems reports of his imminent death have been greatly exaggerated.

A few months back there was a deathwatch surrounding the DUP leader as he began to visibly fade away. Numerous reports had him in and out of hospital and on his deathbed with cancer. The scuttlebutt was that it was a deadly version of prostate cancer and his days were numbered.

It appears, however, that it was something far more treatable than that. A new doctor called in to examine Paisley found that the DUP firebrand actually had an enlarged heart and that the condition was treatable.

Soon after Paisley began to recover rapidly, and these days he is back to himself. All of which actually pleases many of the peace process participants on the grounds that if Paisley can be won over on a new deal it will be impossible for any of his own hard core supporters to outflank him as happened with David Trimble.

Sweeney’s Job Safe?

AFL/CIO leader John Sweeney seems certain to get re-elected to the top union job in the country according to a report this week in The New York Times.

Sweeney has faced harsh internal criticism and the threat of a breakaway led by Andrew Stern of the SEIU union, who has lost patience with Sweeney and believes that the movement needs to be far more proactive about organizing.

Sweeney, however, is a doughty battler who has won many tough contests in his years climbing the union ladder. He also won the crucial support this week of Gerry McEntee, head of the powerful State County and Municipal Employees union.

Sweeney points out, not surprisingly, that these are the toughest times possible for unions and that they face a Republican led White House and Congress which makes it very difficult for union led initiatives.

If he succeeds in winning another term the Bronx-born Sweeney will certainly have proven one of the most durable leaders of the movement since the late George Meaney.

Dublin Boom

One of the most incredible stories this past week was the revelation that Dublin will have a population of over 2 million by 2021, an unimaginable figure just a few years back.

It will mean that almost one out of every two people on the island of Ireland will be living in the greater Dublin area, an incredible figure which will surely lead to traffic and housing chaos.

Vincent Browne, a leading Irish journalist, stated this week that there is an immediate necessity to create another population centre in Ireland which would attract the people away from Dublin. His solution was to relocate all government offices and the houses of Parliament away from the city which would lead to a huge exodus.

Don’t look for anything like that to be agreed on soon, however. Politicians have no intention of moving to some far-flung town or city, and doubtless they will oppose any such steps.