What will happen with regard to the Irish would only become clear after the next European summit. And as I tried to indicate in the introduction to this roundup on my own blog, offering suggestions is all fine, but no one who matters is going to listen to them.
Two peripheral remarks:
Buyer's remorse is overrated folk wisdom psychology. The general trend is that people become happier about their decision once they have made it. I've seen this after the Dutch referendum. Sentiment against the 'Constitution' hardened, also because the result was a resounding rather than a narrow defeat. I predict the same for Ireland.
The disconnect between politicians and the public means that it is rather difficult to even find out why the Irish rejected the Lisbon Treaty. The biggest mistake right now would be to negotiate with the political parties who campaigned for the 'no'. They do not deliver anymore. As much as we might dislike it, the American and Irish financial backers of the 'no' campaign and Rupert Murdoch are more relevant partners. Ultimately, though, even their sway is limited. What would be needed is a direct dialogue with the citizens, which politicians don't have any clue about (neither do I, no idea how to organise something like that). See further:
Centre for European Politics - CEP Blog - Ireland's No to Lisbon: What are the causes?
Three points need to be made to explain this. The first is nothing to do with the EU as such. Political dealignment is the process, which since the 1970s, has led to voters becoming more disloyal and more "available" on the electoral market for new political forces. Citizens are less involved directly in party politics. Political parties have lost their mass memberships, as well as becoming centralised and professionalised. All of this means that in referendums, citizens are more likely to abstain and less likely loyally to follow cues from "trusted" party leaders about how to vote. Gratitude to the EU for all it has done for Ireland to be able to escape from the Third World in the 1970s is therefore not sufficient.
That is certain. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
He talks about the way even the organisations supposed to represent the civil society, such as unions, human rights defenders, environmentalists, who were also campaigning for the yes, also have lost all access to the citizens. Society is now atomised, and the only path to popular opinion is the MSM... Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
Ireland would have been an easy win if someone with an understanding of the MSM had tried to sell it in the MSM. You can win the public debate even against stiff competiton and opposition - but only if you're media literate.
Wallstrom isn't. Or if she is, she's not paying attention to what Europe's corporate media machines are turning into.
Let's not underestimate this - the MSM literally has the power to cripple or kill Europe. This isn't about newspapers and TV, this is a nasty and brutal political fight for votes herded by rhetoric and canned right-wing talking points.
So far no one at EU HQ seems to have realised there's a problem. The content of Lisbon is secondary to the EU's complacency, and its institutionalised and wretched inability to understand how media politics is being played around it.
How can society be improved if people behave more and more as members of a libertarian utopia, not participating in any social body that would allow some democratic feedback from top to bottom and from bottom to top ?
Getting better MSM is only a temporary solution. Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
Getting a better MSM isn't a temporary solution, it's the first step to a more permanent one.
That's partly why the Internet could be good news on that front, too. Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
Then again, the Commissioners are political positions, not technical. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
Margot Wallström's Blog: The Silly Season already? (April 23, 2008)
Migeru Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation. June 16th, 2008 at 1:48 pm Dear Margo, When are those providing the political face to the EU (and you in particular as Commissioner for Communication) going to realize that there is a vicious campaign of manipulation of public opinion against the EU waged through the press? It is most obvious in the UK, but you just saw the result of much the same process in Ireland. Until you understand the nature of the opposition you can't effectively fight the battle to communicate Europe to the citizens. It's not just about providing information - it's primarily about fighting and winning a battle over narratives and frames. And about knowing what the real obstacles are and who the enemy is. If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
Dear Margo,
When are those providing the political face to the EU (and you in particular as Commissioner for Communication) going to realize that there is a vicious campaign of manipulation of public opinion against the EU waged through the press? It is most obvious in the UK, but you just saw the result of much the same process in Ireland.
Until you understand the nature of the opposition you can't effectively fight the battle to communicate Europe to the citizens. It's not just about providing information - it's primarily about fighting and winning a battle over narratives and frames. And about knowing what the real obstacles are and who the enemy is.
If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
Society is now atomised, and the only path to popular opinion is the MSM...
"Atomization", is the pervasive issue of all issues.
This would be topic number one on any progressive agenda. People talking and living with people, feeling their friends, their neighborhoods.
Left wing politics is above all based on empathy. Invert the atomization problem and things might "get back on track". "Nullius in Verba"
