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Klaus took government for ‘complete and utter ride’
Sunday, November 16, 2008 By Niamh Connolly, Political Correspondent
It was a diplomatic nightmare that the government had spotted coming, but could do little to avert. The invitation to controversial Czech president Vaclav Klaus to come to Ireland was extended last February, months before the Irish electorate sent shock waves across the European Union by rejecting the Lisbon Treaty.

As Irish EU officials sent the invitation, they were aware of the notoriously Eurosceptic Czech’s proclivity to stoke controversy, his unorthodox views on climate change and on gay rights. But they would not have anticipated Ireland’s rejection of the treaty and a transformed political landscape which now includes Declan Ganley and Libertas.

Sources say the Czech government had been pressing to return an official visit made by President Mary McAleese in 1999.

An invitation to Klaus was also seen as an opportunity to boost diplomatic relations with the Czech government, which assumes the rotating EU presidency post in January - allowing Irish officials to meet their Czech counterparts.

It backfired badly when Klaus used the media attention on his three-day visit last week to lend support to Ganley’s plans for a pan-European party.

The government could see the approaching debacle, but appeared unable to avert it - short of making a diplomatic nightmare worse.

But it did attempt some damage control. The nod was given to the Green Party’s Ciaran Cuffe to go on RTE Radio’s Morning Ireland to challenge Klaus’s denial of climate change and his opposition to gay rights.

Normally, such criticisms would have earned the junior coalition partner a rap on the knuckles. But the government’s gloves were off.

It was known that Klaus and Ganley were to meet for dinner in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, but it was expected to be a private affair. Though this raised eyebrows, it was not a breach of protocol.

What materialised was a media circus - a dinner attended by 80 guests on the anti-Lisbon side and a joint press conference with public statements from Klaus feting Ganley as a ‘‘dissident’’ in opposition to both EU and Irish government policy.

Despite Ganley’s protests that Libertas is not a Eurosceptic party, his dinner guests from mainland Europe underlined the Eurosceptic support Ganley has attracted. They included MEP Philippe de Villiers of the Mouvement pour la France, who said he would run for Libertas in the European elections next year.

‘‘Make no mistake about it, there was a serious breach of protocol here. Having being invited on a state visit, the Irish government was taken for a complete and utter ride,” one senior source said last week. Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin said the president’s statements were considered inappropriate by the Irish government, noting that the Czech president was not articulating his own government’s view on the matter.

‘‘When a president visits a country, they reflect their own government policy and respect their own country’s views - Klaus did neither,” said Fine Gael’s Billy Timmins.

But underlying the indignation of those political parties citing breaches to protocol, was a tangible fear that Ganley’s anti-Lisbon Treaty views would gain even more traction with the Irish electorate, undermining any chance of a successful second run.

It was clearly a nightmare for the government, which has been struggling to restore some level of goodwill at EU level after the referendum’s rejection, and for Irish MEPs who are increasingly isolated when lobbying on behalf of Irish interests in Europe.

However, one key player emerged satisfied with how the visit played out.

“[The] spluttering, incoherent bluster from the political establishment in this country is very revealing, in that it shows how angry they are that the central basis of their argument for a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty has been so devastatingly undermined,” said Ganley.

A parting shot from Klaus - accusing Martin of ‘hypocrisy’ - sealed the controversial visit by the colourful but highly divisive Czech head of state.

Could it have been avoided? Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny believes so, asking last week why the visit wasn’t cancelled when Klaus’s plans became known.

But to cancel the trip would, according to government sources, have amounted to an ‘‘insult’’ to the Czech government and people, particularly since Klaus is so frequently seen as a solo runner on key issues inside his own country. The Czech Republic is a highly valued trading partner.

Its Irish imports were valued at €287 million in 2006 and there are more than 100 Enterprise Ireland client companies in the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, the Czech president’s performance in Ireland is coming under fire at home. No flood of invitations to visit other member states is expected when he takes over the EU presidency in January, EU sources said.

With EU states increasingly anxious to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, Klaus’s six-month presidency will be eventful.

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