3 September 2009 Edition
Lisbon - Government ignores will of the people
Despite the fact that 900,000 people rejected the Lisbon Treaty in June 2008 the government is putting exactly the same Treaty to the electorate in the 26 Counties this October. Not a single word of the Lisbon Treaty has been changed.
If the Treaty hasn’t changed then why should those who voted against the Treaty in 2008 change their minds?
As with its mishandling of the economy Brian Cowen’s government refuses to listen to the very real concerns of the electorate on Lisbon.
The so called legally binding guarantees do nothing to address issues such as Ireland’s loss of power; the undermining of neutrality; the ongoing assault on workers’ rights and the slow destruction of family farming.
The government is also trading in the politics of fear, with slogans that suggest a No vote will result in Ireland being thrown out of the EU. Such claims are not only ridiculous but aimed at scaring people into supporting a Treaty that is clearly not in their political or economic interests.
If the Treaty hasn’t changed then why should those who voted against the Treaty in 2008 change their minds?
As with its mishandling of the economy Brian Cowen’s government refuses to listen to the very real concerns of the electorate on Lisbon.
The so called legally binding guarantees do nothing to address issues such as Ireland’s loss of power; the undermining of neutrality; the ongoing assault on workers’ rights and the slow destruction of family farming.
The government is also trading in the politics of fear, with slogans that suggest a No vote will result in Ireland being thrown out of the EU. Such claims are not only ridiculous but aimed at scaring people into supporting a Treaty that is clearly not in their political or economic interests.