AMERICA:In diplomacy, explains the Irish Ambassador, having a name like Michael Collins has always been an asset, writes LARA MARLOWE
EVER SINCE I moved to Washington, I wanted to invite Michael Collins and de Valera to lunch.
All right. It’s de Vallera with two “L“s, and the Portuguese ambassador’s first name is João, not Éamon. But I couldn’t resist the wink at history, the fact that the ambassadors of two small European countries, both of which punch above their weight in Brussels and Washington, bear the names of the fathers of Irish independence.
In diplomacy, explains Irish Ambassador Michael Collins, “You trade on whatever assets you have. Having a name like mine has always been an asset.”
Neil Jordan’s film has made both names internationally famous.
Just last week, when the bespectacled Collins was in Chicago, an Irish-American greeted him with the words, “I know your name is Michael Collins, but you look more like Dev.”
When de Vallera was ambassador to Dublin, from 1998 until 2000, his name was a permanent conversation piece, though it wasn’t always easy being identified with the negative portrayal of Dev in Jordan’s film.
Neither is complaining, but these days it isn't always easy being a European envoy to Washington. A recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journalspeaks of "Europe's abject humiliation" and suggests the Republicans would do well to change their name to the "We're Not Europe" party. When US conservatives call President Obama a European, they mean it as an insult.
Then there’s that nickname, tossed about by US media, so rude that I pause over my rucola and parmesan salad. “You mean PIGS?” says de Vallera, confronting the unpleasantness head-on.
Yes, I nod. Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain. The euro zone countries in crisis.
"I hate(that acronym," sighs Collins. "It's so negative." "It is offensive," de Vallera agrees.
Their countries' economies are a frequent topic of conversation. "It is thequestion of the moment," says Ambassador Collins. "For decades, the question was always peace in Ireland. Now it's the economy."
So what does he say?
“We’re not minimising for one moment how serious it is, but we both have positive stories to tell,” Collins continues. “Ireland is expecting 3 per cent growth next year. We sold €1.5 billion in bonds this morning. We’re moving from minus 7 per cent GDP growth last year to zero per cent this year...”
Collins reminds me of a line in the Los Angeles Times, which called Ireland "a poster boy for good behaviour in bad times, held up as an example to Europe's other debt-laden economies . . ." And he discreetly slips a print-out from the Wall Street Journalwebsite across the table. "Ireland proved again that it stands at a slight distance from its troubled euro zone peers Greece and Portugal," it says.
Not to be outdone, de Vallera produces his own Wall Street Journalclipping, showing that Portugal is paying the same interest rates as Ireland. He hands me a press release with the seal of the Ministério das Finanças detailing new austerity measures, and notes that Portugal has moved from minus 2.6 per cent growth last year to plus 1 per cent in the last quarter.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think Michael Collins and Dev were competing for most virtuous euro zone country.
“There is no competition,” Collins corrects me. “We’re partners in the European Union, and we share a currency.”
By chance, former Irish taoiseach John Bruton was the last European ambassador to Washington, while the new EU envoy, due to arrive next month, is the Portuguese diplomat João Vale de Almeida, a close associate of the president of the commission, José Manuel Barroso.
Collins and de Vallera say they benefit from European representation, but bi-lateral relations with Washington are so important that it’s pretty much every man for himself here. The fact that the US tends to deal with Britain, France and Germany further complicates matters.
“We have a very privileged line of access, that is manifest around St Patrick’s Day,” says Collins. “We don’t feel neglected.”
De Vallera understands why President Obama might talk more with the Big Three.
“The problem is if it gives the impression that any of these three countries may speak on behalf of Europe,” he says. “That we will never accept.” I ask de Vallera if Portugal is jealous of Ireland’s vaunted ties with America.
“Well, 1.5 million Portuguese-Americans cannot compare with 40 million Irish,” he admits. But there are consolations. Ten per cent of the population of Rhode Island are Portuguese. Portugal is the third-largest producer of wind energy in the US. The first navigator to set foot in California, where de Vallera will spend June 10th, his national day, was a Portuguese named Cabrillo. The same state has sent Messrs Costa, Cardosa and Nunes to Congress...
And if that’s not enough, Brazil is to Portugal what America is to Ireland. All told, these European partners – not competitors – fare rather well in the Americas.