Irish PM rules out going for top European Commission post

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern plans to lead his Fianna Fail party into the next general election, a government spokeswoman said Monday, ruling him out of contention for the post of European Commission president.

There had been widespread media speculation at the weekend that Ahern would consider the job following major setbacks for his Fianna Fail party in European and local elections held Friday.

Ahern regarded the results as a "serious rebuff", the spokeswoman told AFP, but was not about to quit.

"He plans to lead the party into the next general election," she said.