Denis MacShane, the former Europe minister, was not a happy man as he did interviews yesterday about the Irish no vote and his piece in today’s Times is a mixture of anger and denial. He starts by dismissing the no votes against the constitution in France and Holland and the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland as mere “local difficulties” when set against the broader ambitions of the European project. He then indulges in some sophistry to try and dismiss the democratic importance of the Irish vote.
This ignores the fact that the Irish are the only people who were given a direct vote on the treaty. Does MacShane really believe the British people would say “yes” to Lisbon if given the chance?Ireland represents 1 per cent of the EU’s total population and some old-fashioned democrats may feel that 1 per cent does not outweigh the rest of Europe’s nations which are saying “yes” to the treaty.
MacShane then looks at how Europe can get round the Irish vote:
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