New MEP Proinsias De Rossa TD is one of the four Irish members of the prestigious Council of Europe, a sort of human rights and civil liberties adjudicating body which requires a lot of travel. He was co-opted after the death of Pat Upton earlier this year to join FF's Brendan Daly and John Brown and FG's Tom Enright. Late last month the council gathered in Strasbourg to elect a new secretary general for the next five years. When the Polish candidate pulled out, the contest became a fierce fight between British Labour MP, Terry Davis and Austrian Christian Democrat, Walter Schwimmer. Indeed, Enright says he never witnessed anything like the canvassing that went on.
Things were so tight between the two candidates that the British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook arrived to hold Davis's hand. This had the effect, according to some who witnessed him working the room, of driving even hardened communists, or what is left of them in eastern Europe, into the Christian Democrat camp.
Anyway, the upshot was that, in an electorate of just more than 300, Davis lost by one vote. His least favourite person as a result is De Rossa, because he wasn't there. Davis has been heard to say that he expected more from the president of the Irish Labour Party. His press office says De Rossa couldn't travel to Strasbourg that week because, as Labour spokesman he had to be in the Dail for a series of foreign affairs related items. De Rossa has told party leader Ruairi Quinn that he intends resigning from the council, but since this requires a motion of the Dail, it can't happen until October. Meanwhile, he remains both a TD and an MEP until the next general election.