Europe is watching Ireland anxiously on the eve of the second referendum. And while the "yes" camp seemed to be in the lead for weeks, the aggressive campaign against the Lisbon Treaty now appears to be swaying undecided voters. Niamh is 19 years old. She studies Design, wears green chucks, heavy mascara, and a nose ring. She could not care less about politics but she has just been approached by an old man on Grafton Street. "He was so nice," she says. "Beforehand, I actually wanted to vote 'no,' but maybe now I'll be voting 'yes.'" She doesn't know him. "Is he famous?" she asks. The man is Eamon Gilmore, leader of the Irish Labour Party. He's trudging through Dublin in a last ditch attempt to prevent a second calamity in Europe. On Friday the Irish will be voting for the second time on the treaty that hopes to reform the European Union. This time around nothing is supposed to go wrong.
Europe is watching Ireland anxiously on the eve of the second referendum. And while the "yes" camp seemed to be in the lead for weeks, the aggressive campaign against the Lisbon Treaty now appears to be swaying undecided voters.
Niamh is 19 years old. She studies Design, wears green chucks, heavy mascara, and a nose ring. She could not care less about politics but she has just been approached by an old man on Grafton Street. "He was so nice," she says. "Beforehand, I actually wanted to vote 'no,' but maybe now I'll be voting 'yes.'"
She doesn't know him. "Is he famous?" she asks. The man is Eamon Gilmore, leader of the Irish Labour Party. He's trudging through Dublin in a last ditch attempt to prevent a second calamity in Europe. On Friday the Irish will be voting for the second time on the treaty that hopes to reform the European Union. This time around nothing is supposed to go wrong.
PERHAPS ONE of the most interesting features of the latest Irish Times /TNSmrbi poll on attitudes to the Lisbon Treaty is the doubling in a year, from 9 to 18 per cent, in the number of those who say that it would be better not to be part of the European Union. Forty-three per cent of No supporters are of this view.Although most No campaigners, from Declan Ganley to Joe Higgins, profess to be strong supporters of the idea of a European union, albeit very different models, one result of their campaign has in fact been to push very significant numbers into the ranks of outright Euroscepticism. In the face of such a reality those making the case for Lisbon have again found it necessary to go back to basics to remind voters of the case for EU membership itself.The treaty defines the nature of our membership and of our relationship with our partners in what has been and remains for this State an enormously important and beneficial common project. The EU has helped to lay the basis of our economic and social transformation and has brought down barriers across a continent, opening extraordinary opportunities for travel and education of our young and for business. It has provided an international platform for Ireland to find its "place among the nations", to establish a separate identity from the British, and in the process has contributed significantly to peace on this island. In the wake of a century marked by Europe's bloodiest wars, it seems extraordinary to have to restate that the EU provides a unique, first-of-its-kind, democratic model for peaceful reconciliation, balancing the interests of sovereign nations large and small, an important counterweight economically and politically to great power rivalry.
PERHAPS ONE of the most interesting features of the latest Irish Times /TNSmrbi poll on attitudes to the Lisbon Treaty is the doubling in a year, from 9 to 18 per cent, in the number of those who say that it would be better not to be part of the European Union. Forty-three per cent of No supporters are of this view.
Although most No campaigners, from Declan Ganley to Joe Higgins, profess to be strong supporters of the idea of a European union, albeit very different models, one result of their campaign has in fact been to push very significant numbers into the ranks of outright Euroscepticism. In the face of such a reality those making the case for Lisbon have again found it necessary to go back to basics to remind voters of the case for EU membership itself.
The treaty defines the nature of our membership and of our relationship with our partners in what has been and remains for this State an enormously important and beneficial common project. The EU has helped to lay the basis of our economic and social transformation and has brought down barriers across a continent, opening extraordinary opportunities for travel and education of our young and for business. It has provided an international platform for Ireland to find its "place among the nations", to establish a separate identity from the British, and in the process has contributed significantly to peace on this island. In the wake of a century marked by Europe's bloodiest wars, it seems extraordinary to have to restate that the EU provides a unique, first-of-its-kind, democratic model for peaceful reconciliation, balancing the interests of sovereign nations large and small, an important counterweight economically and politically to great power rivalry.
one result of their campaign has in fact been to push very significant numbers into the ranks of outright Euroscepticism
Something similar can be seen in France, where the 2005 Non voters (on the left, anyway) claimed to be pro-European and just to want a different EU. No serious propositions for a different EU have been made by them since. Locally, (hence anecdotally), I find the EU has just gone off Non voters' radar.
Democracy, cross-border crime and climate change are issues that resonate with young Irish people, a 'yes' campaigner says, which is why people should vote for the EU reform Lisbon treaty in a referendum on 2 October`Jesus, it's about time.' That was how one of the first people I canvassed responded when asked if he would like some information on the Lisbon treaty. At a time when lies and misinformation are flooding the public stage, Irish people are crying out for real information. The political establishment is too discredited to do this effectively, and so it falls to grassroots civil society organisations to provide the facts and honest analysis that people need to make an informed decision on an issue of critical importance for the future of our country. Important for young people That's why I started working with Generation YES, an independent campaign set up in December 2008 by young people who were dismayed by the prospects for our jobs and futures if we rejected Lisbon again, and by the failure of the mainstream campaigns to address these issues from the perspective of young people. Fuelled by the energy of our volunteers we have grown into a force to be reckoned with. We have harnessed the power of social networking to build up by far the largest online fanbase of any Lisbon campaign group. Armed with the certainty that Lisbon is a good treaty which will be good for Ireland, we now have to go out and argue the case with our peers around the country.
`Jesus, it's about time.' That was how one of the first people I canvassed responded when asked if he would like some information on the Lisbon treaty. At a time when lies and misinformation are flooding the public stage, Irish people are crying out for real information. The political establishment is too discredited to do this effectively, and so it falls to grassroots civil society organisations to provide the facts and honest analysis that people need to make an informed decision on an issue of critical importance for the future of our country. Important for young people
That's why I started working with Generation YES, an independent campaign set up in December 2008 by young people who were dismayed by the prospects for our jobs and futures if we rejected Lisbon again, and by the failure of the mainstream campaigns to address these issues from the perspective of young people. Fuelled by the energy of our volunteers we have grown into a force to be reckoned with. We have harnessed the power of social networking to build up by far the largest online fanbase of any Lisbon campaign group. Armed with the certainty that Lisbon is a good treaty which will be good for Ireland, we now have to go out and argue the case with our peers around the country.
