Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? | 41 comments (41 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? (none / 1)

As Murphy's law would have it, a new Eurobarometer poll has just been published a day after I wrote the blog. However it actually reinforces the point I made about the Irish being positively disposed to the EU. The Figure of 68% of Irish people regarding the EU as "a good thing" quoted above actually goes up to 74% in the latest survey.

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by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 at 08:04:05 AM EST

Re: Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? (4.00 / 2)

Mind you, the idiotic handling of the water bills for schools - which the government blamed on EU directives - isn't going to help, which I guess is why Dick Roche was being frustrated the other day.

(The problem seems to be that there is directive on water consumption, to which the government negotiated a derogation for domestic customers (because you can't charge for water here) and not for schools. They didn't increase their contributions to primary school budgets to offset it, of course. The whole primary sector here is fucked up and archaic - the fiction is that they're privately run schools.)

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 at 08:20:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? (none / 1)

Being a secondary school Governor and member of the board of management I know all about it. The Government are putting more and more legal and other obligations on voluntary people helping to run schools in their own time - and are not prepared to carry the costs or responsibilities of their own actions - the Dept of Ed is an absolute classic study in this regard.

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by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 at 10:48:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? (none / 1)

You're in Ireland, right? Sounds just like being a Primary School Governor in England.

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 at 10:49:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? (none / 1)

Yep. The pity of it is that voluntarism is dying in Ireland partly as a consequence - and then we get all the guff from Ahern about "building communities, social capital etc." Its mostly a civil service culture thing though - "maximise our power and budget and outsource all responsibility for actually running anything to gullible members of society who do it for free"

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by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 at 10:56:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? (4.00 / 2)

Frank Schnittger:

As Murphy's law would have it, a new Eurobarometer poll has just been published a day after I wrote the blog.

This results advance contains the following remarkable result

with an interesting correlation table

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 at 11:08:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? (none / 1)

Can't say I am surprised in relation to Irish attitudes - but would expect a more cynical attitude in the UK.

I think a key factor is how the EU fits into the National Narrative. For the UK, membership of the EU is an admission that "Britania no longer rule the waves" and that Britain is now no more than one European power amongst many, including former hated (and defeated) adversaries like Spain, France and Germany. It thus (in part) psychologically reverses the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Napoleon and Hitler

For Ireland the EU represents a chance to blur the boundary with Northern Ireland, to counter the chronic underdevelopment of the first 50 years of the state, and a chance to become part of a bigger, non oppressive, cosmopolitan whole that is not British!

Membership of the EU has a degree of equalisation about it. Britain was equalised down, we were equalised up. No wonder we are proud and Britain is somewhat hostile to it.

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by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 at 12:15:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? (4.00 / 3)

I think that one conclusion we might take from this poll is that it is a bad idea to let the national government campaign for a European treaty. Make the Commission come over. They're more popular.

by nanne (zwaerdenmaecker@gmail.com) on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 at 05:41:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? (4.00 / 3)

Nope. The Irish Government may be a miserable, incompetent shower of wasters, but they'reour miserable, incompetent shower of wasters!!!!

No unelected foreign bureaucrat is going to tell a proud Irish voter how to vote no matter how clever, sophisticated and solicitous they may be.

Merkel can come and say why Germany ratified and why Germany would like us to ratify, that's ok. If she asks nicely, then we will be charmed to help out.

Brown - if he can figure out where Ireland is - will also be welcome especially if he comes over as Ireland thrash Scotland in Rugby.

Sarkozy will have to be kept well away from our President. King Juan Carlos can come as long as he doesn't tell us to shut up.

Donald Tusk should come, as half his younger country men and women are over here at the moment. I'm not sure how many will be entitled to vote though.

The Belgians should send over all their party leaders. Bertie will soon sort them out and organise a Government for them. In fact they could have him as their Prime Minister if they want....

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by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 at 06:32:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? (4.00 / 2)

Frank Schnittger:

No unelected foreign bureaucrat is going to tell a proud Irish voter how to vote no matter how clever, sophisticated and solicitous they may be.

Fair enough: send in the European Parliament.

According to the Eurobarometers, the EP is the best known and most trusted of the EU institutions.

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 at 06:35:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? (4.00 / 2)

We have our own Euro parliamentarians. They tend not to be very influential back home and get very little media airtime. The most vocal and telegenic is probably Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald who will be campaigning against. Sinn Fein were very disappointed with their last election performance. This is their big chance to make it big and they will take full credit for the NO vote as all the other parties will be supporting a yes vote.

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by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 at 06:47:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Will Ireland Reject the EU Reform Treaty? | 41 comments (41 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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