Vote, vote vote for the Treaty!
Via Open Europe, I've come across this humdinger of a quote from Nicholas Sarkozy on the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty: "They are bloody fools. They have been stuffing their faces at Europe's expense for years and now they dump us in the shit." I don't think Sarko really understands that the Irish have rejected the Lisbon Treaty, rather than the EU. And why would they vote for further integration of Europe just because they have benefitted from the EU? Voters don't make choices on national sovereignty based on French perceptions of how much they owe other countries. What has shone through from EU leaders is a naked contempt for the opinions of the Irish voters. They didn't vote from the EU, therefore they are stupid and deserve to be ignored. The German Interior Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, best sums up this mindset: "Of course we have to take the Irish referendum seriously. But a few million Irish cannot decide on behalf of 495 million Europeans." That is an impressive stat, but also a misleading one. Because, other than those few million Irish, no other voters in the EU have been given a chance to decide about the Lisbon Treaty. The decision hasn't been made by the people; rather, it has been made by an increasingly unaccountable EU elite. But since the Euro-philes can throw around misleading stats, I'll do the same too. Of the countries that have voted on the Lisbon Treaty, 100% have rejected it. If the case for the EU was strong and if there was a real reason for the Treaty, there would have been votes across Europe. Make no mistake about it - the reasons why governments are holding votes on the Treaty is for one, simple reason. They are afraid of losing. And, irony upon irony, the one country who may get a vote on the Treaty is Ireland. Yep, as Valery Giscard d'Estaing states, the mentality is simple: "The Lisbon Treaty is not dead... It is imperative that they vote again." Ireland can keep on voting; the EU demands it. And they must keep on voting, until the EU gets the answer it wants. http://theappallingstrangeness.blogspot.com/2008/06/vote-vote-vote-for-treaty.html

ROFL. That'll just the Irish to change their mind. Just keep browbeating them and telling them what to do. They respond really well to people doing that. The term "stubborn Mick" was invented for a reason. I may be four generations removed from West Cork, and there are many differences between Yanks with Irish blood and today's Irish - but some traits never go away. I hope the EU gets another Irish style ass (or arse) kicking.