Former taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that as Europe finds itself “a little bit removed from the United States”, the Continent will become more realistic in the decisions it makes over the coming decades.
Discussing the importance of Ireland’s role as an EU member state, Mr Kenny said “it is a dangerous time and what we have achieved in this country, by virtue of the people’s acceptance of difficult decisions and working very hard, is something that should not be taken for granted because these things can change overnight.”
He was speaking on Tuesday evening at Trinity College Dublin as the recipient of the inaugural Trinity European Laureate Award in recognition of his work during Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the EU in 2013. Ireland will assume the presidency again next year.
Recalling his dealings in Europe as a member of the European People’s Party, the former Fine Gael leader said he remembered “distinctly the value of having a working relationship with people who might not be from your same party.”
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Mr Kenny discussed working and forming relationships with the likes of Angela Merkel, David Cameron, “and even on some days the bould Silvio [Berlusconi] used to have a chat.”
On a changing political climate, Mr Kenny warned, “we live now at a time when we have unprecedented contact and communication worldwide, and yet we have unprecedented isolation and disillusionment in the same vein.”
He said that, although he does not comment on most things that happen in politics, he sees “an unquenchable thirst from a young generation to engage directly with political processes.
“To talk about the common challenges our humanity faces, of climate change, of space, of saving the oceans, of food, of water, of infrastructure, of forced migration because people can’t live in places. All of these things that are challenges that are man-made in most respects, and have to be dealt with by each individual country and collectively and, in our case, in Europe.”
Mr Kenny referenced an event he attended in London at which another attendee asked him what he invested in. “I invest in people’s faces,” he said. “You learn after 40 years in politics almost to be infallible in reading faces.”
Speaking after the event, Mr Kenny reiterated the collective approach that he believes is needed to tackle climate-driven migration and immigration in years to come. He said it is “not just one country alone” affected, and that, in the next 20 or 25 years, there are going to be a significant number of places where people will not be able to live.
“Either because of sea waters rising and floods or because of climate change with severe drought and an inability to live in those places,” Mr Kenny said. “Those people are going to have to go somewhere.
“For instance, if Bangladesh were to be flooded like some catastrophic indications would be, that’s millions of people in very low-lying territory under serious threat from natural calamities. It’s not just a case of one country suffering from migration or immigration here.”
Twelve laureate awards, both national and international, will be handed out in Trinity between now and December of next year. Thanking the room, Mr Kenny supposed that “in a sporting sense, this is the only gold medal that Mayo people have got”.
