television
Registered User
- Messages
- 386
I
This 'the Taoiseach didn't read it' line is getting really tiresome now. Brian Cowen was Minister for Foreign Affairs during the negotiations under the Irish Presidency of the EU that finalised the deal. He was intimately involved in its drafting and he didn't have to sit down and read the treaty cover to cover to know what's in it. Clearly, the mistake he made was actually giving a frank answer to a question. Bet he wished he just lied now.
The McCreevy issue is different. As far as I'm concerned that was a really stupid statement he gave and he obviously completely misjudged the public mood on the whole debate. He certainly looked like a politician "out of touch".
Cowen was displaying a great degree of arrogance by claiming he negotiated the treaty and so did not read it. it shows a lack of political judgement. This document may be long and complex but his backround is in law. Even if he did negotiate it I would have expected he would have read it. Any solicitor worth his salt will always read the fine print and advise his client to do the same.