PRESIDENT NICOLAS Sarkozy's visit to Dublin yesterday made a constructive and worthwhile start to finding how the political crisis arising from Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty can be tackled and resolved.
Mr Sarkozy's energetic engagement with the issues impressed the political leaders and activists he met yesterday. He departed with a better understanding of the depth of Irish concerns about the treaty, the length of time it will take to deal with them and a conviction that it will be possible to manage this process with the Government.
His visit has helped crystallise public debate, by making it clear that while Lisbon is a European issue just as much as an Irish one, Mr Sarkozy speaks on behalf of the 23 EU member states which have so far ratified the treaty and the 26 expected to do so this year. The realisation that the others want to go ahead with it and that Ireland is likely to be the only state saying no is a necessary part of the debate on the referendum's political consequences. Many accuse Mr Sarkozy of arrogance for his reported remark that Ireland will have to vote again on the treaty - which he denied yesterday - but fail to see the same point can be made about rejecting the democratic legitimacy of these other decisions.
The Government has effectively communicated to Mr Sarkozy that despite this lonely position there is no quick-fix solution to the problem. Time is needed to analyse why the treaty was rejected and to formulate a political response. Any French expectation that the issue could be resolved during their EU presidency has now receded; it is more realistic to expect a method for tackling it will be agreed by December. Intensive contacts with Taoiseach Brian Cowen and his colleagues will continue and yesterday the two men had a good personal and working relationship. That should help them overcome timing problems concerning next year's European Parliament elections and appointment of a new European Commission, alongside the substantive work on addressing Ireland's difficulties with the treaty.
All this made yesterday a good day's work. In the event Mr Sarkozy had useful meetings with the two main Opposition leaders as well as with the Government and a selection of Yes and No campaigners, giving him a better insight on the issues involved. We share a common politics within the EU, making these encounters necessary and fruitful. Both Mr Cowen and Mr Sarkozy underlined common interests and values between France and Ireland. There was a mutual desire to find a common solution to this crisis and a realisation that it could take a year or two to accomplish. Creative political leadership of the first order will be required to make that happen.
The attention paid to Mr Sarkozy's visit should help convince the public of how important this is for Ireland's international position during a time of great economic uncertainty. It can also help create the conditions in which EU political leaders can better reconnect and communicate with citizens in order to retain their confidence and support, as Mr Cowen wrote in this newspaper yesterday. Ireland's continuing debate on Lisbon can make an important contribution to that endeavour.