IN AN acrimonious end to his State visit to Ireland Czech president Vaclav Klaus accused Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin of being a "hypocrite", while a number of leading Irish politicians accused Mr Klaus of an unprecedented breach of diplomatic courtesy.
Mr Klaus, whose country takes over the EU presidency in January, made his comments after Mr Martin accused him of an "inappropriate intervention" on Tuesday night. Mr Martin was referring to the joint press conference held in Dublin by Mr Klaus and Libertas founder Declan Ganley at which they criticised the Lisbon Treaty.
"Such hypocrisy I cannot accept," Mr Klaus was quoted as saying in Dublin by the Czech Republic's CTK news agency. "If someone doesn't please me, I will say so to his face - and not behind his back."
In the Dáil, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny criticised the Czech president. "It is inappropriate and an embarrassment for the Government in the context of where we stand in Europe and our future in Europe," said Mr Kenny. "Perhaps the visit should have been cancelled altogether," he added.
Labour Party spokesman on European affairs Joe Costello accused Mr Klaus of "an act of unprecedented diplomatic discourtesy by a visiting head of state". "I am well aware that Mr Klaus is an extreme right-wing figure who likes to court controversy," said Mr Costello, who added that a dignified but firm diplomatic protest about the president's behaviour should be made to the Czech government.
The Minister of State for European Affairs, Dick Roche, said Mr Klaus's description of Mr Ganley as a dissident was "misguided, misinformed and insulting" when applied to a state which had an unbroken tradition of democratic political life and free debate.
"Given the type of business activities that Mr Ganley has been involved with, the comparison is not simply over-the-top but an insult to the selfless men and women that challenged communism," said Mr Roche.
A spokeswoman for Libertas, Caroline Simons, said Mr Klaus had shown himself to be a friend to the majority of Irish citizens who rejected the Lisbon Treaty.
"The Irish people have eyes and ears. They can clearly see the truth of Ireland's position in Europe, and they can also see that the people they have elected would rather that they did not have all of the facts," she said.