Will McCreevy lead the no campaign?
You have to hand it to Charlie, Ireland’s happy-go-lucky member of the European Commission. He’s certainly no shrinking violet when it comes to expressing his personal views on the Lisbon treaty.
At his by-now regular Friday speech in Ireland today (which enables him to have a long weekend at home) he told a room of accountants that most Europeans would have followed the Irish example and thrown out the treaty if they were allowed a vote by their leaders.
”When the Irish people rejected the Lisbon treaty a year ago the initial reactions ranged from one of shock to horror, to aghastness and temper and vexation,” said McCreevy. “On the other hand, I think all of the politicians of Europe would have known quite well that if a similar question had been put to their electorate in a referendum the answer in 95 percent of countries would have been ‘No’ as well.”
McCreevy, who is famous for telling the public during last year’s referendum campaign that “any sane, or sensible person” shouldn’t even attempt to read the Lisbon treaty, must have forgotten that the public in Luxembourg and Spain both voted for the EU constitution, the precursor to the
Lisbon treaty.
His broader message is probably correct: at least some electorates in Europe (the Danes, British, Dutch and maybe the French) would throw out the treaty if it came to a popular vote. But you have to wonder if McCreevy’s six monthly “shoot from the hip” outbursts on Lisbon are intended to give Taoiseach Brian Cowen heartburn.
Just a week after Cowen persuades his EU partners to deliver the legal guarantees Ireland needs to vote again on the treaty up pops McCreevy questioning the whole democratic legitimacy of the Lisbon treaty.
This follows his effusive praise for Declan Ganley’s no campaign last December when he told Hot Press and the rest of the media that the Libertas founder had won the argument on Lisbon fair and square.
Cowen must be wondering how to shut McCreevy up before he causes any more collateral damage to his government’s critical yes campaign for the Lisbon II referendum in the autumn.
If only the Cheltenham racing festival could be brought forward to September. McCreevy never misses Britain’s premier horse racing festival, even managing to turn out when Europe’s financial markets are in meltdown.
So a month-long September race meeting in Britain, or even better in Australia, may be the best way to provide a gaffe-free run in for Lisbon II. Otherwise, you may get short odds on McCreevy leading the no campaign in this autumn’s referendum on Lisbon.
12:23 am
“McCreevy..must have forgotten that the public in Luxembourg and Spain both voted for the EU constitution, the precursor to theLisbon treaty.”
And Spanish unemployment is now 18%. Hardly an example we would want to follow…
Comment by Brian Boru