PRESIDENT NICOLAS Sarkozy, who visits Ireland on Monday to hear the Government's and other views on how to proceed after Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, is a major figure in European politics. As President of the European Union he has a direct responsibility of finding an acceptable formula to move this issue forward. As President of France he has displayed a zeal for change intended to transform his country's domestic and foreign policies after a prolonged period of lethargy. His success has been uneven, but he is barely one year into his mandate and is determined to keep up the pace.
How can he apply this formidable political energy to reconciling Ireland's rejection of Lisbon with the treaty's likely acceptance by all the other EU member-states? This week he is reported to have told deputies of his UMP party that Ireland will have to vote again on Lisbon. This was not an official statement, but a political assessment delivered to his political confrères. We do not know the precise context of his remark - and in particular whether he foresees another referendum on precisely the same text, or whether it can be varied to meet major objections from those who voted No.
He tells this newspaper today that he is coming to Dublin to listen and understand. "My hope is that we will find a solution together that will allow the European family to remain united", he says.
Rather than bridling at an assumed act of large state bullying we should welcome the opportunity for dialogue with someone who says he is open to a constructive compromise on Lisbon that can keep Ireland in the European mainstream and who has the political capacity to deliver on it. He is experienced enough to realise that any bullying attitude will backfire and, hopefully, well enough advised to know how sensitive Irish opinion is. He has a clear mandate from the other 26 states to clarify what is necessary to reach a compromise, in tandem with the Government's own research, analysis and political judgment on Lisbon.
A strong timetabling imperative is also involved. The legal basis for next June's European Parliament elections must be agreed this year, and the political basis on which the new European Commission will be appointed next September is nearly as urgent. Should a new formula be found - perhaps involving a unanimous EU vote to allow each memberstate keep a commissioner and declarations about Irish neutrality, political identity and sovereignty on abortion rights - it is unlikely be voted on in a new referendum in time to establish that legal certainty.
If Irish voters genuinely want to remain at the heart of the European Union they must take these negotiations with the utmost seriousness. Political argument will revolve around whether sufficient change has been made on Lisbon to justify another referendum. That is what the logic of renegotiation entails. We should be sophisticated enough to distinguish between Mr Sarkozy's political effort to satisfy Ireland's concerns and his need to reconcile this with the 26 other member states which want to go ahead with the Lisbon Treaty.