Vive le Ireland libre!

I think criticism of the Czech President Václav Klaus regarding the Lisbon Treaty is very much overt the top. On his current visit to Ireland, the Czech President has made it known that he is opposed to the Lisbon Treaty and supports Declan Ganley and Libertas. As the head of state of a country within the European Union and as the up and coming President of the rotating Presidency of the EU, Mr. Klaus is well within his rights to make his opinions known on the issue. After all Ireland was the only country within the European community given a say on the Lisbon Treaty and we rejected it decisively. Something President Klaus welcomed and cast serious doubt over the future of the Treaty in countries like the Czech Republic and Poland. Which then wanted to shelve ratification of Lisbon as a result of the Irish vote. Of course this is a perfectly normal turn of events seeing as the EU is reportedly a democracy and is reportedly supposed to speak in unison on all issues. Thus when one state dissents and disagrees it surely is time to scrap the project which is rejected and return to the drawing board… At least that is how I was led to believe the EU works.

This aside, I was a little perplexed by Ciaran Cuffe the master of the sound bite attacking President Klaus on his visit. One would think that President Klaus’ actions are akin to General de Gaulle mischievously declaring; “Vive le Québec libre!” on a state visit to Canada. Of course the fact Canada and France being two separate entities separated by a vast ocean and so forth the incident thus reflected poorly upon the General. But I’m sure he had his fun. A similar incident took place in Ireland on a state visit during a dinner in the Arás in honour of the General. In his after dinner address, de Gaulle advocated the withdrawal of British troops from the Six Counties and the immediate reunification of Ireland. Strangely the RTE cameras cut out at this point and this was well before the days before Section 31! Anyhow, incidents of the past bear little resemblance to what is taking place at present, regardless of however amusing they are to recount. Returning to the event at hand, I think President Klaus is well within his rights to voice his reservations about the Lisbon Treaty.

Not only is he the President of a sovereign state within the community, but as a citizen of such a state he is impelled to have a say on the future of that community. As the Czechs along with all other members of the EU outside of Ireland were denied a say on the Treaty, it is only through this avenue President Klaus has to resort to speak out. As a nation with a long history of foreign dominance and oppression the Czechs value their newfound freedom. Years of Hapsburg, Nazi and Soviet rule have entitled them to enjoy it. They are proud to be Europeans, regardless of the West’s abandonment of them at various points in their tortured history. Like us they know what it is like not to be free. Unlike us they can remember vividly a time when they were subjected to the yoke of foreign dominance. It’s only just over eighteen years ago Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe after all. Václav Klaus is a man who values his countries freedom and the right to speak ones mind. I think his visit to Ireland is a wake up call for the likes of Ciaran Cuffe and those who still think the Lisbon Treaty is good for Europe.