Sometimes all we have is our reputation.

This point has been illustrated very vividly this morning in Waterford, where the only thing of value, it seems, that is left in the Waterford Crystal factory is its reputation.  And indeeed, how valuable it is proving to be.  For more than 200 years this company has survived recessions, has made it through revolution, rebellion and war and remains intact.  However, it is holding on by a slender thread at the moment.

Waterford Crystal is generally used as that wedding present that goes on display in some kind of cabinet and is taken out once a year for some special occasion.  This means that it is highly impractical for the most part and for most people this is not really  what they want.

Waterford Crystal brough in John Rocha, the designer, some years ago to design more contemporary pieces that might prove more interesting to a younger generation.  It doesn’t seem to have worked.

However, two centuries of high quality and two centuries of reputation don’t disappear overnight and there appears to be some interest in the company. Perhaps it will survive.

In 2008 Ireland voted No to staying with the rest of Europe.  We appear to have gotten away with it.  They didn’t chuck us out, but we have now been unambiguously told trhat it is a simple matter to modify the Lisbon Treaty, remove the need fo Ireland’s ratification and the rest of Europe to move forward without us.  We have been given guarantees (the details of which need to be clarified) on issues such as neutrality, taxation, the permanent commissioner, abortion, etc.

Our reputation as Europhiles and as good, productive citizens of Europe has saved us so far.

There have been several comments in the newspapers about the uncertainty that has been generated by this No vote in the US.  The fact that we are an expensive place to do business.  The fact that we are not on the mainland and the fact that most of Europe can speak English as well as we do means that onloy our tax incentives remain as the wom to catch the FDI fish.

Our reputation is all we ahve left and if we vote No again in 2009, then that will be the end of that.

Comments welcome.