Wednesday, 27th August 2008

It was, of course, President Sarkozy who suggested it first, but now an Irish minister is hinting that his recalcitrant countrymen might be offered a second chance to come up with the "right" answer on the Lisbon Treaty.

"We cannot exclude the possibility that, at some stage, and in the right circumstances, it may be necessary to consult the people once again," says Europe minister Dick Roche (so we know where he's coming from). "My personal view is that a referendum is the appropriate response to the position we are in."

Well, you had your referendum, Dick, and the people said No. But…

"We cannot simply sit on our hands, as some would have us do, and keep saying that No means No," replies Mr Roche.

Except that to the rest of us that is precisely what No does mean. In the Eurocrats' dictionary of international English, though, "no" means "wrong" when it refers to something Brussels wants to do but which is opposed by the people over whom it presumes to rule.

Meanwhile, the Irish government is trying to create a new definition, having commissioned a detailed analysis of the word as it applies to their referendum. Could be that they will decide it actually means "yes". We'll find out next month.

Mr Roche's comments about a second referendum precede a meeting between Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen and President Sarkozy to try to find a way round the No vote. No prizes for guessing what their preferred solution might be. After all, the Irish were forced to vote again so that they gave the "right" answer when they were asked before about their view of the EU's federalist agenda.

This time, however, it might not be so easy. As Sinn Fein MEP Mary Lou McDonald put it, many Irish people would see a re-run of the referendum as "an affront".

A simpler solution would be for Brussels to accept the word "no" and bury the hated treaty/constitution.

Back to Brussels Insider