A time for choosing

Nick

Honour? Brown? No chance

Nicholas

Münchau or Münchausen?

I read the Euro words but my Brit mind found it hard to process the staggeringly overbearing arrogance of it. The words reveal the full extent of scheming duplicity on the part of the Euro fascists. A weasel response, bend the rules and press on regardless against the wishes of the people.

The very fact that a democratic, if clearly unexpected, response has left the Euros scrabbling to continue after they had made it clear that all 27 states needed to ratify for the Lisbon con-trick to succeed shows just how dangerously undemocratic those involved are, including our own deluded "glorious leader".

Pete

This is providing a health check on the condition of our democracy.

Are there any signs that we have anything to worry about yet?

David C

At the moment Brown is doing 'Leadership'. You know this because of '42 Days' and because his cabinet tells us so.
Previously he has refused a referendum, truncated debate in Parliament, sworn ‘black is white’, and signed up to the contract (even with ill-grace).
This is ‘Leadership’ (well, to him anyway).

Now Brown is in something of a quandary:
Should he demur from ratifying the Lisbon (Consti)treaty?
Should he renege on a signed agreement he made with his friends on the continent?
Should he give up on something that has already cost him his reputation for honest dealing?
If he does, he will be following the electorate.
He will be making another ‘U-turn’.
He will be admitting he was wrong.

This is not ‘Leadership’.
Ten years of following Blair and Brown will never do ‘followership’ again!

Brown did a bit of ‘Leadership’ at the treasury.
Hence our gold reserves have gone with the wind.
Out pensions are in a mess.
We are standing surety for Northern Rock.

Quite frankly if you present the man with two boxes; one in hearts-and-flowers wrapping paper and a label which says “yes Gordon, this is the one”, and another which has flashing neon signs above it saying “DON’T OPEN THE BOX!!”, you know that his jaundiced eye and palsied hand will be drawn to the flashing lights – all in the cause of ‘Leadership’ of course.

Cis

The commentary on Abraham Lincoln's first presidential address reprinted in the Speccie's 180th Anniversary edition (p38) struck me as particularly relevant to these issues. It reports that Lincoln refuses to recognise the secession of the Confederate States and maintains that there may be revolution or insurrection in the Union, but disunion - the actual loss of provinces (sic) without a struggle and without negotiation, is an official impossiblity. The article then quotes Lincoln as saying: "It follows from these views that no state upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void,...

You may guess which Union came to mind as I read that.

Elizabeth

'British public's position is identical to Ireland's: yes to EU, no to Lisbon'

Really!!! Just try us.
Methinks you assume too much.
Put it this way - don't bet on it.