W2E-002 Ulster editorials 2-3.txt
Will Aras soon get a new tenant?

AT a time when Ireland is facing a period of renewed uncertainty over the peace process, the entire island clearly needs as much long-term political stability as possible.

Many people will therefore have been alarmed by speculation that President Mary Robinson may stand down when her term of office expires in 1997.

By common consent, Mrs Robinson has been one of the most outstanding presidents in the history of the state.

Her election four years ago may well have been an act of political serendipity, in that only a self-inflicted blow prevented Fianna Fail's Brian Lenihan from securing the highest office in the land.

However, having topped the polls against all the odds, Mrs Robinson immediately set out to re-define the position of the presidency in modern Ireland.

She has succeeded in a way few could have predicted, and has helped to transform the image not only of her office but also of her country.

Mrs Robinson has travelled to every corner of Ireland, and has proved a particularly welcome visitor on this side of the border.

She has managed to establish a rapport with unionists which would have been almost unthinkable in the past, and also found the time to meet with Gerry Adams in west Belfast.

In addition, northerners from a wide variety of backgrounds have accepted invitations to attend functions at her official residence in Phoenix Park.

Mrs Robinson has also become a major figure on the world stage through her trips to Europe, the USA, Asia, Australia and most poignantly Somalia.

In particular, her discussions with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace were of huge symbolic importance.

She will undoubtedly add to her long list of achievements before her term of office is completed.

Were she to allow her name to go forward for re-election, the outcome of the poll would be a mere formality.

Indeed, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael might well feel there would be little point in fielding a candidate against Mrs Robinson.

The possibility that she might rule herself out of the race has not so far been widely considered.

However, the fact is that Mrs Robinson has not yet committed herself to seeking a second seven-year spell at the Aras.

Just days ago, one of the USA's most influential newspapers, the Boston-Globe, suggested that the president was a strong contender to emerge as the next Secretary General of the United Nations.

The outgoing Secretary General, Boutros Boutros Ghali, who is due to retire in 1996, had lengthy private talks with Mrs Robinson only last week.

Some sources have also suggested that the president could be in line for a seat at either the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg or the World Court in the Hague.

She may even feel she has had enough of the limelight, and want to spend more time with her family at their new home in Co Mayo.

Mrs Robinson is her own woman and must make up her own mind, but the simple truth is that Ireland needs her in the Phoenix Park.

She had accomplished much, but much still needs to be done. A second term would allow her a unique opportunity to review and develop the constitutional role of the presidency.

Her continued presence at the head of the state would also reassure unionists during what still seems likely to be a crucial period in the history of the island.

For these and many other reasons, Mary Robinson must be the president to lead Ireland into the 21st century.
