Lisbon promises from JunMin Roche

It was highly amusing to hear that noted European statesman Junior Minister Dick Roche commenting on the latest poll on ‘Lisbon’. Especially revealing were the comments on the ‘guarantees’ concerning the sensitivities of the tender Irish voters.

There are, as of now, no ‘guarantees’. There is much talk and many promises (mainly from Irish politicians) but, so far, nothing cast in stone. The actuality is that the EU sees that we are on the ropes and terrified of being cut adrift of ‘Mummy’s’ apron strings.

In light of our having

• upset the EU apple-cart with the original rejection and
• blotted our copybook with our ‘Wild West’ banking and
• made life difficult for other member states with our hasty deposit guarantee;

there is little likelihood of the EU granting ‘Dickie’ much, if anything, of his wish-list.

We need them and they have little scope or reason for humouring us. Our mendacious  negotiators will likely achieve the bare minimum in order to make the deal look sufficiently different so as to avoid a legal challenge. The Irish voters will probably gallop back into the herd, for safety’s sake.

Junior Minister Roche should be more careful of giving such hostages to fortune, given the  public’s mood and sense of betrayal. More broken promises are just not what the people need right now.