Mr Corbett and I hardly share identical views on the European Parliament, the EU or the Lisbon Treaty.
On Friday the 13th (of June), the news came through: The Irish had rejected the EU's Lisbon Treaty.
But when the EU's Lisbon Treaty took effect in December 2009 the European Parliament used its new powers under the treaty to prevent that deal being renewed.
So it is with the citizens' initiative, an idea adopted in the final days of a grandiose convention drawing up what was then called an EU constitution (becoming the Lisbon treaty after many misadventures).
But although the Lisbon treaty changed the EU, it is equally important to see what did not change.
The European Parliament's Defence and Scrutiny Committee took evidence on 28 September 2010 on the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the EU's common security and defence policy.
The charter was originally drafted in 2000 however did not become enshrined in EU law until the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009.
But here comes the Klaus question: if speed is of the essence, should EU governments that want to see the Lisbon Treaty ratified give Mr Klaus what he wants at the October summit?
Mr Faymann's first move was to shift his party's position on Europe by calling for referendums on any future EU treaty, despite the fact that Mr Gusenbauer had just refused to put the Lisbon treaty to a popular vote.
Under the 2009 Lisbon treaty, moreover, the EU has lots more to do.
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The debate on 10 December 2012 focused on changes that result from the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, which gave the EU exclusive competence over foreign investment.
The EU itself can manage just fine without the Lisbon Treaty.
Co-decision on the EU budget is one of the innovations in the Lisbon Treaty, which took effect last December.
True, the parliament has powers over EU legislation that will be further increased if the Lisbon treaty is ratified, but for the most part its loonier fringes can be safely ignored by their saner colleagues.
EU's leaders agreed to a new treaty in Lisbon to replace the botched European constitution, which was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005.
One of his first moves in office was to persuade his European Union peers to remove a clause from the now-frozen Lisbon treaty stating that competition was a key EU objective.
But several other EU leaders signalled that there was little appetite for rewriting the Lisbon Treaty, which was only adopted after eight years of tortuous negotiations.
Other EU countries think this was done in a protocol to the Lisbon treaty saying that the charter created no new rights in Britain, and may be reluctant to concede more.
She was instrumental in ensuring passage of the Lisbon treaty, which is supposed to help the EU cope with its expansion to 27 members and creates machinery for an EU foreign policy.
The European Parliament could also use the power granted to it under the 2009 Lisbon Treaty to vote down any deal reached by EU governments if its calls for increased funds are ignored.
She backed the appointment of relative lightweights for both the EU presidency and the foreign minister's job created by the Lisbon treaty.
As the holidays end, there is much chatter about the Lisbon treaty, a proposed set of changes to the EU's rule book that faces a second referendum in Ireland on October 2nd.
Despite the Lisbon treaty's grand foreign-policy aspirations, the EU has not learned to think in geopolitical terms.
Such antics might be little more than a legal curiosity were it not for the fact that the opposition Conservative Party in Britain has said it would, once in office, call a referendum on Lisbon if the treaty has not been ratified by all 27 EU members.
Lisbon's opponents say the treaty differs little from the defunct EU constitution, rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.
Brussels has got around such trifles as negative opinion polls and even lost referendums: witness the unwanted EU constitution, now cross-dressed as the somewhat-less-awful Lisbon treaty.
The government is also considering activating a clause in the Lisbon Treaty that allows the UK to opt out of areas of EU justice and policing next year.
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The Lisbon Treaty came a step closer to coming into force during an EU summit in Brussels after EU leaders struck a deal with the Czech Republic - the last EU state to sign up to it.
The European Parliament is a key player in setting the EU's budget, and its powers have been expanded following ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, especially in areas such as the budget for agriculture.
But here is the tricky part: if language along those lines would give Mr Klaus what he wants, should other EU leaders give it to him without a promise that he will immediately sign the Lisbon Treaty?
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