The secretary general of the Council of Europe, as the song would have it, is in "accentuate the positive" mode.
Mr Walter Schwimmer was quoted on Tuesday by journalists in Paris as warning Russia, Turkey and Ukraine that they may face sanctions, even expulsion, from the council unless they honour their commitments.
Yesterday, he spoke more cautiously. The message is that the credibility of the 41-member Strasbourg-based council, whose chair Ireland assumes next week for six months, can be measured better by its deep engagements in places like Kosovo and determination to face up to problems, rather than by its willingness to sanction those who do not live up to its standards.
It is a delicate line to tread.
The council, which has become in the last 10 years the standard-setter for democratic and human rights in central and eastern Europe, is no gentlemen's club, he says, but an organisation which "wants to offer values to every European country".
"That means letting them into the club and saying: `Let us help'. "
Among his biggest immediate problems are the three aforementioned; Russia for its "disproportionate" actions against terrorists in Chechnya, Ukraine for the dubious nature of its current elections, and Turkey for its refusal to implement the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in an important Cyprus case.
How to deal with them will form part of his discussions in Dublin today.
Ukraine, in particular, may face loss of its privileges in the council's parliamentary assembly in January.
Mr Schwimmer, the third Austrian secretary general of the council, is a member of the conservative Austrian People's Party and was elected this summer, narrowly defeating his British Socialist opponent.
His visit to Dublin involves meetings with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs to discuss the programme of the Irish chairmanship of the Council of Ministers, as well as a seminar in the Institute for European Affairs. He is also due to launch a book by Denis Huber, A Decade Which Made History, on the last 10 years of the council, which the Government has part-sponsored.
Problems with the council's over-stretched budget, as well as new membership applications from states such as Bosnia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Monaco, mean Ireland has a busy agenda for its six months at the helm of the Council of Ministers.
The Council of Europe is running a major operation to build democracy in Kosovo - Mr Ahern will visit there in a fortnight - and major monitoring missions to some of the newer member-states. Ireland will host some important meetings.
A particular challenge on which Mr Schwimmer hopes the Irish will be able to act as honest broker is relations with the EU, notably over plans by the latter to produce a charter of citizens' rights for approval at the December 2000 summit. The Council of Europe and its court have been asked to participate in the drafting, although both are expected to express reservations.
It is still not clear whether such a charter will have legal standing or simply be a political declaration. However, Mr Schwimmer warns of the danger that it could set up a system of conflicting rights between the two organisations and undermine the central human rights role of the European Court of Human Rights. He warned such conflict of laws and institutions could reduce the protection afforded by the Strasbourg-based system.
The general secretary sees a solution in the EU signing up as an organisation to the European Convention on Human Rights.
He is also keen to see Ireland develop the idea of a rolling action programme for the council involving those who will follow in the council's chair, Italy, Latvia and then Liechtenstein.