EU: Chris Patten has packed his bags, given up his flat overlooking Brussels's Cinquantenaire Park and has a diary full of engagements from the beginning of next week. As he spoke to The Irish Times in Strasbourg yesterday, however, the outgoing External Affairs Commissioner faced the prospect of having to remain in office for a few more weeks, writes Denis Staunton in Strasbourg
If the European Parliament votes against Mr José Manuel Barroso's Commission today, the Prodi Commission will be obliged to stay in place until a new team is approved. Although he is clearly eager to move on to his new life, Mr Patten dismisses the suggestion that a vote against the Commission would represent an institutional crisis for the EU.
"If the Parliament voting as it believes is [ considered] an institutional crisis, then what's the point of having a Parliament? I think there are two really important issues raised by this imbroglio. One is about democratic accountability in the European Union. The other is about the importance of distinguishing between private belief and public policy."
As one of the most prominent Catholics in British political life, Mr Patten is impatient with claims by some church leaders that the Italian commissioner-designate, Mr Rocco Buttiglione, is being persecuted on account of his religious faith.
"I do not believe that to be a practising Catholic today is to make oneself into the victim of or target for permissive, liberal opposition I certainly don't think that it's sensible for us, as Catholics, to create a sort of conspiracy theory about how the rest of the world sees us," he said.
Comparing the Buttiglione controversy with Catholic Church leaders' criticism of Mr John Kerry's support for liberal positions on social policy, Mr Patten stressed the importance for a politician to distinguish clearly between the private and public spheres.
"Anyone who has religious beliefs or, I guess, any sort of spiritual dimension to their lives is going to be - if they're worth their salt - affected by what those beliefs are. That is a very different matter from the proposition that you should inflict your beliefs on other people. That is the difference between a confessional state, or rule by ayatollahs, and the practice of religion in a plural, open society."
Mr Patten declined to comment directly on Mr Buttiglione's suitability for the post of Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner but hinted that the Italian's clash with MEPs could cause problems if he is appointed.
"What's important is to recognise that in any Commissioner's portfolio, there is issue after issue, from budget to legislation, where you have to be able to come down to the Parliament to carry a majority," he said.
Mr Patten's own relations with the European Parliament are organised by an Irishman, Mr Peter Power, who is due to join the cabinet of the incoming British commissioner, Mr Peter Mandelson. Mr Patten retains an interest in Irish affairs and has been following the debate about a possible coalition between Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin.
"While I prefer Sinn Féin in politics rather than planting bombs, and while I prefer Sinn Féin with a ballot box in both hands rather than an Armalite in one, I would need a lot of persuading, indeed more persuading than anyone is capable of applying to me, that Sinn Féin is now a respectable, moderate, centre-left vehicle for democratic process and democratic action. Call me old-fashioned, but I wouldn't want to vote for a party, some of whose political leaders had killed people," he said.
Despite his call for a "fierce testing" of Sinn Féin's democratic credentials before they enter government in the Republic, Mr Patten favours a role for the party in the government of the North.
"In the Republic, they only represent a fraction of the vote and I think that has to be taken into account. But I nevertheless recognise that one is getting extremely close to double standards in making these arguments," he said.
Mr Patten's interests in Ireland extend to an admiration of the Irish political lobbying effort in Washington, a model he hopes Mr John Bruton will draw on when he takes up his post as EU Ambassador to the United States.
Mr Patten fought for over a year to secure the job for Mr Bruton and he is confident that the former Taoiseach will bring valuable qualities to his new role.
"I think he will have a feel for how to express the European position to American audiences, policy-makers and more generally. I think his very presence will generate interest that wouldn't otherwise be there and he'll be taken very seriously when he comes back here and tells us how we look to them. He's terribly well connected with a lot of European political leaders, including President-elect Barroso, who knows him very well from his work in the Convention and his work on other occasions," he said.
Although most EU policy-makers are hoping that Mr Kerry will win next week's US election, Mr Patten warns against over-simplifying the consequences of such an outcome.
"If Senator Kerry were to win, it wouldn't mean, in my judgment, that suddenly all would be sunlit uplands in our relationship with the United States. I think Senator Kerry would be likely to put Europe on the spot and say: 'I've heard what you've got to say about multilateralism - now deliver.' We know we can deliver on multilateralism when it's what's called soft power but a lot of multilateral solutions involve some hard power as well and we're not so good on that," he said.
A second Bush victory would leave the EU and the US deeply divided but Mr Patten argues that the gulf in opinion must be bridged fast so that the West can face the challenges of Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and the Middle East together.
"There will have to be an almost unnatural amount of magnanimity on both sides if we're to make some progress," he said.
When he leaves the Commission, Mr Patten plans to write two books, one about Britain's relationship with Europe and America and another about the limits of national sovereignty. He is chancellor of Oxford University and, although he has no ambition to hold political office again, he plans to remain engaged in the political debate.
"I want to get stuck into the debate about higher education and research in the UK and Europe, about which I feel very strongly. I hope that I can still get stuck into the debate on Europe and foreign policy issues I hope from time to time, if needed, to contribute to the debate on reconciliation in Ireland, in the whole island of Ireland," he said.