Parties pass the buck after treaty defeat

BARELY had the ballot boxes opened than the recriminations started in the Cork South Central constituency.

The writing was on the wall and it was particularly embarrassing for Fianna Fáil, especially as it’s the local beat of Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin.

He remained in Dublin, however, facing the fallout from across the country. But his supporters were pointing the finger of blame elsewhere.

FF city councillor Terry Shannon said he didn’t think the no vote’s winning margin of 55.1% reflected on the Government. He believed that his party’s faithful had supported the yes campaign, but claimed those loyal to Fine Gael and Labour had let the side down.

“I think they didn’t come out and, when they did, a lot voted against it,” Cllr Shannon said.

But FG Senator Jerry Buttimer hit back: “The referendum was lost because of the Government’s inability to put the case across properly.

“I would dispute any claim that Fine Gael didn’t push the case — we were the most proactive group on the ground.”

The front of his notebook said “Nice Day” — not apt, he admitted.

FF’s Munster MEP Brian Crowley seemed stunned. “There probably was some confusion because people didn’t feel it was explained properly. But I don’t believe it is a vote against Europe in general,” he said.

The MEP said that some other EU countries will be angered by the result.

“There’s bound to be some flack. Our task is to minimise any negative reaction,” Mr Crowley said.

He said politicians needed time to analyse why the majority of people had voted no.

His FG counterpart Colm Burke claimed an admission by Taoiseach Brian Cowen, that he had not read the treaty, did the yes camp damage.

“I am a solicitor and if you came into me to sign a house sale, what would you do if I handed you a document to sign and said I hadn’t read it? I’m sure you’d find another solicitor fairly fast,” Mr Burke said.

Independent MEP Kathy Sinnott said: “I hope this (result) explains that the Irish want to be involved in decision-making within the EU and not put out on the periphery.”

Deputy Deirdre Clune (FG) said the reason for the no majority was easy to explain: “People are feeling the effects of the downturn in the economy. There’s a lot of dissatisfaction out there about that.”

Asked what was now likely to happen to the Lisbon Treaty she replied: “I really don’t know, we’re in uncharted waters.”