We might never get rid of her

One of the few positive aspects of the routine farce that is known as the appointment and vetting (by the Toy Parliament) of the new Commissioners was the thought that at last we would be getting rid of the ineffable Cathy Ashton, really Baroness Ashton.

Not so but far from it.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will continue leading nuclear negotiations with Iran until a deal is reached, even if a November deadline is missed, she said on Monday.

Ashton's five-year term as EU foreign policy chief ends at the end of this month, and she had said she would stay on as nuclear negotiator until Nov. 24, the deadline for reaching a long-term settlement with Iran over its nuclear program.

And the chances of that agreement being reached in just over a month a precisely nil. Never fear (or, rather, be very afraid):

Asked if she would continue beyond that date if necessary, she told reporters at an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg: "I have been asked to carry on until it's done."

How is that for reassuring news?