Martin one of the few to emerge with any dignity
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Micheal Martin will face the music today with the unenviable task of explaining the Lisbon referendum result to the rest of the European Union.
Just a month after apparently being sidelined into the Department of Foreign Affairs, the minister now sees his role re-energised and playing an absolutely vital part in Taoiseach Brian Cowen's agenda.
Mr Martin becomes the first government representative to formally meet with counterparts from the rest of the European Union following the 'No' vote in the referendum. He will attend his second meeting with EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg this morning.
After emerging, along with Dick Roche, as the few on the Government side to emerge with any credit from the 'Yes' campaign, Mr Martin's own performance today will be equally important.
Ironically, Lisbon has actually boosted any long-term ambitions he might hold for the Fianna Fail leadership. The same cannot be said about any of his contemporaries.
Tanaiste Mary Coughlan got badly found out with her blunder on the number of European Commissioners and didn't play a prominent role beyond that, when the Fianna Fail campaign was crying out for a softer image.
Her happy-go-lucky attitude in the count centre in Donegal on Friday -- when she appeared to have her mind almost as much on her brother's wedding as on the disastrous poll result -- was beyond comprehension.
Fianna Fail figures accusing Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny of failing to get a 'Yes' majority in Mayo ought to look at the even worse result in their own deputy leader's constituency of Donegal South-West.
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan was the embodiment of the communications difficulties of the Government, even if his warnings on the economic consequences were right. He won all his arguments with the 'No' side, but that doesn't mean he convinced the 'don't knows'.
He was a prime example of why you don't send a lawyer to simplify a complex legal document for ordinary people.
Justice Minister Dermot Ahern also has serious questions to answer about the lack of effort to sell the Lisbon Treaty to the public when he was Foreign Minister.
His eye-off-the-ball contribution was summed up by his pointless trip to Kenya in recent months when the Lisbon legislation was going through the Oireachtas and the 'No' camp was cranking up its message on the treaty being incomprehensible.
Contrast
By contrast, Mr Martin got thrown in at the deep end by taking over the Foreign Affairs job on the eve of the poll and putting up a brave fight in difficult circumstances.
The obscurely named GAERC meeting (General Affairs and External Relations Council Meeting) was supposed to just go through the motions of preparations for the European Council on Thursday and Friday.
Plus, there's a bit of housekeeping to be done on the upcoming French, Czech and Swedish Presidencies and discussions on the situation in the Balkans and the Middle East.
Instead, the Foreign Minister's meetings will be, not just overshadowed, but dominated by the EU crisis caused by the 'No' vote.
Into the Lion's Den steps Mr Martin, whose experience and listening skills will be tested.
Although he's still a relative novice in the Foreign Affairs area, he does hold a considerable reputation on the international stage, as his pioneering work on the smoking ban in this country became a template for several countries.
Mr Martin is in for the long haul now as he tries to clean up the mess and nobody can claim he's going to be a marginal figure in this Cabinet.
