Ireland voted to reject the Lisbon Treaty on 12 June 2008. Libertas promised a better deal for Ireland and Europe.
In an ideal world of direct democracy the voters would have known the programme ahead of casting their ballots.
In this case they didn’t know and didn’t care, but enough of them suspected the Lisbon Treaty of something.
***
The referendum has gone and the result was clear the following day.
Where is the better deal?
The European heads of state or government (the European Council) have promised continued ratification of the agreed treaty. No answer there.
The Irish government has not been able to come up with any concrete ideas. No answer there.
Surely, then the ‘no’ side must be actively campaigning for its magic formula for Irish and European satisfaction beyond the confines of the Lisbon Treaty?
Wrong. This 2 July 2008, almost three weeks on, Libertas’ latest web page entry, dated 17 June 2008, thanks its voters and promises to start outlining a positive programme in the future.
Unbelievable.
Ralf Grahn
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
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errrr....
ReplyDeletePoland
Czech Republic
Austria
Maybe Italy, Germany to come.
Not all countries are ratifying Lisbon.
Libertas is a campaigning organisation with one objective - to defeat the Lisbon Treaty. It has been remarkably successful in that objective.
It will no doubt start to reconfigure its stance once the EU sets out its stall as to how to respond to the collapse of the Lisbon process, now with Poland, Czech Republic and Austria joining with the Irish voters in expressing serious doubts.
It is the EU which has no reply. Sarkozy is trying to attack Mandelson after previously agreeing the EU's WTO position. It's chaos. The EU has no idea what to do - to carry on ratifying the Treaty and bludgeon Ireland into conformity - or to arrest Lisbon ratitification drop the unanimity requirement, and then proceed with a different Treaty.
Ireland is on hold until October by which time Cowen is expected to change the minds of Ireland's electorate.
Chaos. Chaos. Chaos. No wonder Libertas is keeping quiet. As Napoleon said, 'never disturb your enemy while he is making a mistake.' Sarkozy will do more to disintegrate the EU than Libertas could ever do unaided.
Tapestry,
ReplyDeleteIf I understand your enlightened view correctly, your only clear principle is that anything detrimental to the European Union is good for you.
By the way, where is the positive (constructive) programme of your blog, you know, the one it set about to shape?
[I have to admit I was wrong guessing your answer. I imagined that you would find that a gentleman's club (in the narrow sense) was a gentleman's club.]
Anti-eu may seem inconsistent and irrational from a pro-eu perspective, but maybe we aren't getting the point: they simply want the bloody thing to fall.
ReplyDeleteThey have no interest in improving it, either toward efficient decision-making or democratic "surplus".
The more intergovernmentally driven and unanimously paralized the better.
The problem is that they're winning.
Igor,
ReplyDeleteThe reasons you mention are those which make me ask what the constructive programme of Libertas and the Tap Blog is, if any.
If the EU fails, the democratic way of life in Britain will survive. That is constructive enough for me.
ReplyDeleteThe EU has done more to destroy the constructive nature of life in Britain, to negate the advantages of our democracy and our once successful economy.
We are being held back. Our way of life is collapsing. The EU is the primary cause of the reversal of progress towards a new dark bureaucratic age.
Destroying the destroyer is construction pure and simple.
Tapestry,
ReplyDeleteThank you for making your goals clear in the most simple, one could say simplistic, way.
If success and happiness are to return to your island the moment it leaves the European Union, there is actually no need to lambast European integration as such.
Let the 'misguided' Europeans do their own thing.
Just up and go, it would seem at first sight.
But before that you would have to convince the UK parliament and government that the security and prosperity of Her Majesty's subjects would be taken care of better outside the European Union.
So you seem to need a persuasive constructive programme after all.
If the Conservative Party wins the next general election, which looks likely, they would actually have to do one better.
It is one thing to win a campaign on anti-European rhetoric, but quite another one to forge a working government policy.
Perhaps your blog can help them?