Irish anger at Klaus dinner plans with leading anti-Lisbon campaigner
President Václav Klaus makes a three-day state visit to Ireland next week, where he’s to meet his Irish counterpart Mary McAleese and other senior officials. But it’s his plans to attend a private dinner with leading Irish euro-sceptic Declan Ganley that has ruffled feathers, with some Irish politicians complaining that Mr Klaus is meddling in Ireland’s internal affairs. The Czech Republic takes over the revolving presidency of the EU on January 1st, and one of its tasks will be trying to resuscitate the EU’s Lisbon Treaty – rejected by Irish voters earlier this year. The Irish “Yes” campaign was spearheaded by a group called the Irish Alliance for Europe. Radio Prague spoke to the man who chaired the Alliance - Ireland’s former finance minister and now opposition Labour MP Ruairi Quinn.
“My understanding is that the Irish government, which is a centre-right coalition consisting of the Greens and the Fianna Fáil party, find this a very unhelpful act. They’re not saying so publicly or officially, but the word around the parliament here is that Klaus is interfering in the sovereign affairs of the Republic of Ireland. He’s well-known as a euro-sceptic so it comes as no surprise. He’s also well recognised across Europe as not necessarily feeling that he’s confined to the constitutional role of the presidency of the Czech Republic. But it would be unthinkable for an Irish president – and we’ve a similar constitutional structure – to become involved in day-to-day politics.”
You could argue though that this dinner will be in Mr Klaus’ free time in Ireland, so he can have dinner with whoever he wants, can’t he?
“Of course, and that often frequently happens, but it isn’t highlighted. Frequently, foreign guests come here on official business, they have friends and contacts and there are private encounters that don’t attract publicity. But this has attracted a lot of publicity, so it can’t be put in that context which has always been recognised and accepted.”
“Well Ireland is not being bullied. At the various meetings that have taken place, both from a government point of view and at the presidium of the Party of European Socialists, of which I’m the Treasurer, the Irish vote was respected. What is clearly recognised by all other 26 member states is that that vote creates a problem for the other 26, and we’re looking at ways in which the Union can move to a position that we want it to move in. But this is not unusual, I mean Václav Klaus famously appeared on Margaret Thatcher’s Tory Party conference platform back in the early 1990s, and he has been a strident critic of the European Union from the very beginning. So there’s no surprise in relation to the views that he’s expressed. He’s been a long-term continental European sceptic, and he’s in very good company with Mr Declan Ganley, who’s the prime organiser of the organisation Libertas.”
You do have very different political views to Mr Klaus, but will you be meeting him next week in Ireland?
“I’ll be having lunch with him at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Iveagh House. I’ll be one of a number of guests. I imagine the normal form of that is that there’ll be 100-120 people and I’ll be there representing my own party.”
Do you perhaps fancy having a few words with him, just to explain your position on the treaty?
“I don’t think Mr Klaus will be particularly interested in listening to anybody with whom he disagrees. He’s made up his mind on most issues a very, very long time ago, and - a bit like Mrs Thatcher - he’s incapable of seeing both sides of the argument.”
