How dare he?
Bertie Ahern has said that Ireland may have to “play hard ball” during Brexit negotiations.
When asked on BBC Newsnight whether Ireland should take a tough stance in negotiations over cross-border trade and alignment, Ahern said: “I’m afraid the answer to that is we have to play hard ball.
“Let’s say customs union equals trade agreement. If that trade agreement is fairly close with what’s presently there, I think, forget about Ireland for a minute, I think that would be good for the UK’s economy.”
Ahern said Brexit is a “disaster for Ireland”, and insisted any return to a physical border would not be acceptable.
“There never will be a border. There is not going to be a physical border across Ireland because if you tried to put it there you wouldn’t have to wait for terrorism to take it down, people would just physically pull it down – the ordinary people.”
His answer was not met delight from some sections of the English press, with The Express stating that Ahern has a “CUNNING plan to THWART Brexit.”
They also wrote: “IN A SHOCK statement the former leader of Northern Ireland, Bertie Ahern, has demanded Dublin be difficult negotiating partners for Britain during the EU discussions.”
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