The Irish Vote

I suppose it is not too surprising that, in attempting to pass an entirely new constitution, the Masters of the Universe running the European Union decided that it would be best not to ask for comments – or votes – by the people who would have to live under the new rules.

After all, this is the group that, last time round, essentially boiled itself down to the heads of France and Germany, rewriting the same document over a cozy dinner, and then expecting the other old and new countries to basically sign off or get stuffed. That didn’t work well, either.

And, when one considers that the primary complaint in Europe itself about the EU government is that it seems remote to most, much too bureaucratic, and has the air of a bunch of politicians talking to other politicians, it only makes sense that this is the exact technique they decided to use for ratifying the “Lisbon (where politicians met)” Constitution.

And, true to form, all the politicians voted for all of the politicians’ ideas; it was a real lovefest, basically unanimous, even among countries where multiple votes had proven the ambiguity, or even animosity, of the population to the EU apparatus.

Unanimity is a great thing.

And then Ireland showed up. How dare they turn the question over to the people? But they did, and the defeat, by a resounding 53% against, brought the charade to a (temporary) halt.

Now they’ll have to cadge up some other way of passing a constitution without asking the governed for their consent. Watch closely, they’ll find a way.