By Brian Johnson - 3rd October 2009
We never heard from Brian Cowen, he never debated with me once, which was the right thing for him to do, because he would have been destroyed in any debate on the issues themselves. They put forward Micheál Martin, who is the best debater Fianna Fáil
Declan Ganley on Brian Cowen
Millionaire anti-Lisbon treaty campaigner Declan Ganley has called Irish taoiseach Brian Cowen the "greatest politician in the country" as initial tallies show a massive swing towards the 'Yes' campaign.
The Libertas party founder said the economic downturn had had a massive influence on the vote which proved "just how scared people are".
Speaking on RTÉ Irish radio, Ganley said that although he completely disagreed with the Irish prime minister's arguments for the troubled treaty, "I doff my cap to the greatest politician in this country, Brian Cowen".
"As a Machiavellian politician he made glove puppets of the opposition in this country, and reminds us why Fianna Fáil are the natural party of government.
"We never heard from Brian Cowen, he never debated with me once, which was the right thing for him to do, because he would have been destroyed in any debate on the issues themselves. They put forward Micheál Martin, who is the best debater Fianna Fáil have."
Ganley said that the result will likely secure Cowen's position as prime minister, despite his government's widespread unpopularity.
"He now has a mandate for the next three years," he said.
"There are no Fianna Fáil backbenchers or Greens that are going to vote themselves out of office by taking down this government. We are stuck with them whether we like it or not. Politically they have played an absolute blinder."
Ganley admitted defeat, saying, "A 'Yes' vote is a 'Yes' vote. With the whole jobs and economy argument it's sad to see a situation when you get a big vote, but it's not a vote inspired by hope.
"It's a vote inspired by something else other than hope and vision. There was degree of despair that was leading some people to want to vote yes on this occasion."
Asked whether the concessions made to Ireland by EU leaders had helped secure a 'Yes' victory, Ganley said, "We will see what these so-called guarantees are worth. I hope they have some value. They would not exist if it wasn’t for our work in the last vote."
But he warned that ratification of the treaty was "not a done deal yet".
"Czech president Václav Klaus told me he may be impeached if he doesn’t ratify and I would hope that is something he is prepared to go through and that the Brits get their chance to have a referendum on this, in which case the treaty will be parked where it should be parked," said Ganley.
"Maybe in a weird way this is the best outcome for all of us. If any of the yes side scaremongering was true that we would be isolated and hated, then they can't blame us now.
"If the Brits deep six (discard) this thing, then they can take all the flak."
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