The Economist Shines a Light on Bertie

The Economist's Charlemagne column (sub required, I think, so email me if you want me to send it to you) handicaps the possible candidates for the European Commission presidency. They opine that

If Mr Ahern looks in the mirror, the answer stares him in the face. The Irish prime minister comes from the centre-right and has burnished his reputation during the Irish presidency. The French might hesitate about a candidate who does not speak their language and is close to Mr Blair, but they recognise that at least Mr Ahern has dealt fairly with them. Bertie, as he is always known, seems genuinely reluctant to swap Dublin for Brussels. But he might find it hard to resist a concerted effort to draft him. Chairing the meeting that ends in his being dragged to the EU's top job might be a fitting end to an eventful presidency.

I still think that the Dick Cheny solution is unlikely, but then I blithely predicted Bush would never adopt the Irish approach of treating the constitution as a blackboard and support a gay-marriage amendment three days before he actually did.