Fianna Fáil, once again, fails to distinguish between the party and the State. Mr Bertie Ahern, as Taoiseach and Uachtaráin of Fianna Fáil, has written to ambassadors and diplomatic staff in all embassies abroad asking them to vote for Fianna Fáil candidates in the European and local elections and in favour of the referendum on citizenship next Friday.
The letter was sent with their ballot papers in the "diplomatic bag". It is the first time, apparently, that this facility, enshrined in international law, has been used to canvass votes in a party political way. The Opposition parties are right to object to it.
There are two aspects to the whole affair which are disturbing: the fact that the Taoiseach wrote personal letters to Irish diplomats abroad asking them to support his party in the forthcoming elections; and, the use of the diplomatic bag to transmit the letters.
In diplomatic life, the diplomatic bag is used to send correspondence or other material between the sending State and its embassies abroad. The key point is that it is immune from interference by the host state. The basic international law in regard to the "diplomatic bag" is contained in Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. More precise rules were adopted by the International Law Commission in 1989.
Article 27 essentially deals with the protection of "free communications on the part of the (diplomatic) mission for all official purposes". Article 27.3 provides that "the diplomatic bag shall not be opened or detained". Article 27.4 provides, inter alia, that "(the diplomatic bag)... may contain only diplomatic documents or articles intended for official use".
On a strict reading, this Article seems to allow correspondence of the State only. On a broader reading, it could be argued that it could also cover other more personal correspondence for a diplomat who is serving abroad on the official business of the country. It is a common enough practice in many countries to send correspondence - such as bills or bank statements - through the Department of Foreign Affairs for forwarding to an Ambassador or embassy staff in the diplomatic bag.
In these circumstances, it is wrong for the Taoiseach to write to diplomats abroad - or, indeed, to a group of home civil servants - urging them to support his party. Given his office and the fact that he may, in the normal course, have reason to give direction to such State employees on official matters, he should be particularly careful about anything which might be construed as pressure or intimidation in relation to party political matters which are a personal question for each individual voter.