  We investigate the consistency of the measured charge radius and dipole
response of $^{11}$Li within a three-body model. We show how these observables
are related to the mean square distance between the $^9$Li core and the center
of mass of the two valence neutrons. In this representation we find by
considering the effect of smaller corrections that the discrepancy between the
results of the two measurements is of the order of 1.5$\sigma$. We also
investigate the sensitivity to the three-body structure of $^{11}$Li and find
that the charge radius measurement favors a model with a 50% s-wave component
in the ground state of the two-neutron halo, whereas the dipole response is
consistent with a smaller s-wave component of about 25% value.
