Vote should prompt rebuttal of SF claims

There is a world of difference between France and Greece, and the results of the presidential election in the first country and the parliamentary elections in the second illustrate it aptly.

In France, the Socialist Francois Hollande defeated President Nicolas Sarkozy by a narrow margin, though not too narrow for comfort. Although Mr Hollande unveiled dramatic proposals during the election campaign, he is a moderate who has been called “a conservative with a small c”.

In Greece, the centre- right New Democracy emerged as the largest party. But the most conspicuous, and most worrying, development was the advance of the extreme right and extreme left. Yesterday the New Democracy leader, Antonis Samaras, declared himself unable to form a new coalition. The electorate may have to vote again next month.

Campaigners for a No vote in our own fiscal treaty referendum on May 31 have tried to equate the two events. The contrast between a smooth transfer of power in one country and near- chaos in another shows the absurdity of their arguments.

The vote in Greece was not so much a vote against austerity as a cry of despair. The vote in France was not a vote in favour of austerity, for nobody loves austerity. It was an acceptance of fiscal restraint, but in circumstances that will be radically altered if Mr Hollande has his way.

He demands a renegotiation of the treaty to include measures to bring about economic growth and employment. During the election campaign he appeared to make some progress towards persuading the person who most needs persuasion, Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Yesterday she seemed to return to her more traditional hard line. But that cannot be the end of the story. Mr Hollande has powerful allies in European politics, administration and banking. They will support him on the only available solution to the ever- worsening debt crisis.

It is against this background that the Irish referendum campaign is taking place. The battle lines have become clearer since it began officially a week ago. Sinn Fein, the United Left Alliance and their friends condemn the pact as a recipe for permanent austerity. They maintain, against all the evidence, that if we reject it we can still borrow enough money to retain public services at their present level.

In the past few days, we have seen welcome signs of a fightback by the Government and its allies, notably Fianna Fail. But they must do more. Specifically, they must expose the nonsense of the Sinn Fein arguments, point by point; and they must outline the certain consequences of a No vote. This does not amount to scare tactics but to simple statements of the truth. Those who deny the truth do not have Ireland’s interests at heart.