In an important decision to be made by the end of the month, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, must nominate Ireland's next member of the European Commission. National interest, individual talent and party advantage are at play in the decision, which feeds directly into the expected Cabinet reshuffle this autumn.
All three dimensions will be reflected in the appointment. How they should be balanced deserves an informed debate.
National interest has changed profoundly over the course of Ireland's 31-year membership of the Commission - partly because those who represented Ireland were able to influence decisions made in Brussels in ways that benefited this State's development. Finding a balance between national interests and those of the European Union as a whole is a task facing all commissioners, but it is sensible to match them closely in the nomination.
Ireland has had a major interest in the Common Agricultural Policy throughout these years. It is one of the central EU competencies, and the source of large transfers to one of our principal economic sectors. But we have gained more from the single European market than from the CAP since the late 1980s, as industrial exports and foreign investment boomed.
This State's transition to net contributor status is well under way. It will be more necessary than ever to optimise the benefits gained from access to continental markets, high technology and research and development arising from pooled EU policies. That would represent a coherent fit between national and European priorities in these changed economic circumstances. Security and foreign policy are also developing to meet new challenges and threats.
For these reasons, it makes little sense for Ireland to pursue the agriculture portfolio over the next five-year term, as has been advocated loudly by farming interests. The CAP's budgetary parameters have been laid down in advance, the sector is much less important in the economy than before and adapting it to a new competitive environment will depend more in future on national than EU level efforts and policies.
Individual talent and political experience feed in to this decision. Such varied personalities as Patrick Hillery, Peter Sutherland, Ray MacSharry, Pádraig Flynn and David Byrne all worked well as Irish commissioners on both counts, some outstandingly so. The common thread was versatility and the political authority that arose from their nomination by a small state with a positive attitude to deeper European integration.
The Government has accumulated real political capital from Ireland's most effective EU presidency to date. This should be built upon by nominating a heavyweight such as Brian Cowen, Mary Harney, Charlie McCreevy or Pat Cox to the Commission, with a view to securing a senior portfolio tailored to Ireland's current national interests. It would be ill-served by a nominee who had failed to make the grade in this Cabinet and was offered compensation by an over-cautious Taoiseach.