Cowen facing EU nightmare
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TAOISEACH Brian Cowen faces a political and economic nightmare -- at home and abroad -- after voters resoundingly rejected the Lisbon Treaty.
The defeat of the treaty, by a majority of almost 110,000, creates a major political headache across the European Union.
Just a month after becoming Taoiseach, Mr Cowen failed his first test as leader of the country, with the 'No' camp winning by 53pc to 47pc -- and a European treaty being defeated here for the second time.
Mr Cowen goes to Brussels next week to explain the way ahead following the most embarrassing result in Ireland's history in the European Union.
At his first European Council meeting as Taoiseach, Mr Cowen faces a frosty reception from his EU counterparts.
The treaty must be ratified by all 27 EU member states in order to come into effect.
Mr Cowen now accepts the Government is entering "uncharted waters" as he attempts to rebuild bridges with fellow EU leaders and find a solution to the Lisbon dilemma.
"I don't have the answer to the question: what happens next?" he said.
"I am going to have to reflect on what it is that's happened in the last 24 hours."
Although he said he respected the outcome, Mr Cowen did not rule out putting the treaty to the people again in a referendum, along the same lines as Nice 2.
"I am simply not ruling anything in or out or up or down," he said.
But Fine Gael and the Labour Party both cast doubt on the prospects of any second referendum being held after the comprehensive result.
Mr Cowen said he accepted responsibility for the result and he believed people had voted 'No' for a myriad of reasons, although some of the matters were extraneous to the treaty.
"I have not succeeded in this case in winning over a majority of people," he said.
Confounding the belief that a high voter turnout would be enough to carry the referendum, the turnout came in at a respectable 53pc -- yet still the 'No' vote triumphed.
The 'Yes' vote only came out on top in 10 constituencies, compared to 33 where there was a 'No'.
After the result became known, Mr Cowen revealed he had spoken about the outcome with EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Luxembourg Premier Jean Claude Juncker.
European leaders want to continue to ratify the Lisbon Treaty in the rest of the European Union, despite the 'No' vote in Ireland. Mr Barroso insisted the treaty was not dead.
Problems
"The 'No' vote in Ireland has not solved the problems which the Lisbon Treaty is designed to solve," he said.
On the economic front, there are fears there will be repercussions for Finance Minister Brian Lenihan if the downturn in public finances means he has to exceed borrowing limits.
There are concerns in financial circles that the Government will get a rough ride from the European Commission and other euro countries if, as expected, the borrowing limit of 3pc, or about €8bn, is exceeded this year or next.
Rather than being given wriggle room, Mr Lenihan could be told to make up the gap through lower spending.
As the blame game among the 'Yes' campaign started, the finger was firmly pointed at Mr Cowen and Fianna Fail for starting the campaign too late.
Former Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan accused Mr Cowen of going on a lap of honour following his election instead of focusing on the referendum campaign.
However, Fianna Fail sources pointed out that Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny failed to carry the vote in his own county of Mayo, despite having three TDs and an MEP in the county.
Meanwhile, 'No' campaign chief Declan Ganley did not rule out running in next year's European elections after his Libertas group proved instrumental in defeating the treaty.
The possibility of Libertas becoming a political party was also not ruled out.
- Fionnan Sheahan Political Editor
