Wilfred Martens is one of the architects of the Belgian federal state and we all know now how successful that turned out to be. Now he is “reflecting on the future” of Europe… That’s promising…

I didn’t agree at all with Ganley, and I sensed opportunism in most of what he did. But he spotted a legitimate gap in politics and had the cojones to attempt what Martens would only spout about: organise a pan-European party. That idea failed for the same reason a federal Europe would fail: people just don’t feel it. Sad but true. Also, Ganley should have smiled more: he came across as far too aggressive all the time.

I find his juxtapositioning “after Ireland rejected the Lisbon Treaty came the financial crisis” disingenuous. He dismissed the No campaign with an unsubtantiated allegation that it was all based on falsehoods, whereas in my opinion everything about the way this Treaty has been sold, in fact, not sold, IMPOSED, is based on falsehoods, from the dodgy Referendum Commission and the threats of Ireland being cast adrift from the EU etc. to the way the thing is written, with its fake fundamental charter of rights that’s nothing but a declaration to these latest “guarantees” about Irish neutrality (WHaT Irish neutrality? By UN Law we are belligerents in a warcrime of aggression and have been since March 2003) and Ireland “keeping a commissioner” (I thought the nationality of individual commissioners was supposed to be of no relevance) and “the right to life” (internal market distortion is one of the cardinal sins of Lisbon. Want to try stopping a contraceptive qua abortifacient from being sold here in competition with other forms of hormonal contraception that are not abortifacients? I’ll lay a pound to a penny you’ll be accused of internal market distorting practices and won’t be allowed to continue) to the completely false guarantee that Lisbon does not create an EU army when it patently does (viz. articles requiring Member States to improve their military capacity and spend at least 5% of national budget to do so. Lisbon overrides all conflicting provisions in the Irish constitution so don’t tell me that Irish “neutrality” (even if such a thing existed) can be “guaranteed” constitutionally. These people are Liars. Their self-interest takes priority over everything else in their minds. In my opinion.