Ireland and Great Britain are two different islands with a few things in common. One of those is that they are both ruled by a treacherous political elite committed to giving away sovereignty to the undemocratic, authoritarian EU against the wish of voters.
What is going on in Ireland now is a reminder of the contempt elected politicians have for the people that elected them.
In June 2008 Irish voters rejected the Lisbon treaty in a referendum but government, far from respecting their wish, is forcing them to vote again next autumn. The result of this consultation will have effect well beyond Ireland as a no vote will have consequences for the whole european project.
Here in the UK native Britons can only wait and hope for the best, thanks to Gordon Brown who first promised a referendum but then changed his mind when he realised the majority of Britons would have voted no. Worse still one of the most influential figures against this treaty is Gerry Adams, the leader of the Sinn Fein. It’s a sad irony of history if a man, who not long ago was behind a violent terrorist campaign in which plenty of people have been killed on British soil, is now the best hope we have to prevent this country from disappearing into the european superstate.
A lot it’s at stake.
Even if already 80% of our laws are made in Brussels, with the Lisbon treaty decisions in crucial areas such as defence, foreign policy, immigration will be made by unelected EU commissioners and the Parliament will have less power than a parish council.
The Irish, unlike the British, tend to be more pro-european but lately they became more sceptical. One argument used against popular consultations on EU policy is that voters are too stupid to understand such complex matters and they use elections to punish politicians for reasons that have nothing to do with Europe. Even if this is true, the Irish have a lot to be unhappy with. After many years of strong economic growth, they are in the middle of a severe recession caused by the membership of the Euro.
When Ireland adopted the single currency, lower interest rates caused a housing and credit bubble that sparked a consumption boom fuelled by debt. The following credit crunch had a devastating effect on the Irish economy. Unlike Britain, Ireland cannot devaluate its currency, cut its interest rates or print more money so the Irish government has very little space for manouvre.
The ruling coalition is very unpopular and they have no chance to be re-elected so now they are using any dirty trick to convince the Irish to vote yes. The latest is to deny absolute equality of airtime to opposing sides of the referendum debate during editorial coverage but instead to give equal time to all the political parties. The problem is that more parties are in favour of the treaty than against so, in practical term, the yes side will receive much coverage that the no side.
Nothing new, after all the story of the European Union is a tale of spin, lies and deception, in Britain as well as in Ireland.
GIUSEPPE DE SANTIS
