Something that hadn't occurred to me before now. How will the Irish people vote on the EU Treaty if the economy is really in full retreat by the time voting takes place? I suspect that the only hope of this treaty passing is if the referendum is held very early in 2008. The longer the government waits, the more likely it is that the people will start to see things negatively.
Not only could it cost the government the referendum, but there's always a risk that anti-immigrant sentiment could come to a boil during the campaign. If I were Bertie I'd postpone that referendum until mid-2009 and then retire in June of 2008. Let someone else handle that aggravation.
