Lisbon: Why I voted no
Since the result came out today, the TV bobbleheads have been telling me why I voted no. While they might have suggested one of the reasons why I voted no, they did not discuss all of the reasons.
Before I start, and before the accusations of bias start flying, let me state that these are my own views personally, and it is hoped that one of the other writers who voted yes will also put up a post
There is a saying. “If you can’t dazzle them with diamonds, then baffle them with bullshit.” From where I sat, this is pretty much what both sides did in the campaign leading up to yesterday’s referrendum. So why did I vote no.
The treaty text
Many of our esteemed politicians didn’t even read it, and it is not hard to figure out why. Nearly every paragraph in the over 200 page document referred to sub paragraphs and numbered ammendments to a myriad of other documents, making the document impossible to navigate and understand. It was impossible to figure out whether or not there would be mass abortions, euthaenasia, prostitution, debotchery were I to vote for the treaty. The most I could figure out was that it gave more power to the European Court of Justice which, were a case brought to it, order that certain things such as all those nasty things could be brought about. At least that is what the No camp were pretty much saying.
Neutrality
We stopped being neutral the day US military and CIA flights first touched down at Shannon. Whether the Lisbon Treaty passed or not would not change this. The No camp said that we would lose our neutrality, what neutrality. The yes camp said we would not lose our neutrality. You can’t lose what you don’t have.
You should be grateful to Europe
What have I to be grateful to Europe for, the roads? I don’t have a car., besides, most of the roads under construction in this country are public-private partnerships, and those such as the new Limerick Tunnel, will be tolled. Our fishermen were blockading ports this week because, due to European quota systems, they can only catch a certain number of a certain type of fish, putting a limit on what they can earn. The high fuel prices don’t help. I don’t know much about the fishing industry, how ever here is what I do know. If fisherman X throws his net over his boat to catch one type of fish, and catches a couple of another type of fish as well, they have to throw the second type of fish overboard because they are not allowed to sell them. If they are found to have them on their ship, they can be dragged before the Circuit Criminal Court. While all our fishermen have to stick to stiff restrictions, Spanish fishermen can hoover up anything and everything it seems.
The introduction of the Euro saw prices of everything jump. It was hoped that with it’s introduction, it would make it easier to show that the Irish were being ripped off for everything and hopefully embarrass retailers to bring their prices in line with the rest of Europe. It didn’t happen. Everything was rounded up instead of down, and the “paddy tax” goes on to this day.
Scare tactics
We were told by the Yes side that if we rejected this treaty, all sorts of bad things would happen. We would be isolated, nobody in Europe would like us any more, We would lose all our jobs and all the Polish women would leave our shores for the safety of a country which ratified the treaty. We were told we who vote no were anti-Europe. It’s sort of like the way those who objected to the Iraq war being branded Anti-American, or “you don’t support the troops.” Sorry, but I think we are smarter than that. The yes side came across as trying to bully people rather than inform them. Nobody likes a bully. That kind of politics might work in the States, but as has been proven, it falls on it’s arse on this side of the Atlantic.
Non democratic
Every country in the European Union has to be a democracy, yet the European Union itself is run by unelected commissioners. The Lisbon treaty would have added an unelected president of the commission to the list of people in Europe we did not vote for. For those that are at the top of the EU, it comes across as one big massive gravy train, swallowing up money.
Another example of how the EU is undemocratic is that when we rejected the Nice treaty, we were asked to vote for it again. Albeit with a few declarations. Declarations are not legally binding.
And don’t get me started on the fact that only 800,000 people got the opportunity to decide the fate of over 490 million people today. There should be a law that if one country wants a referendum, then there should be a EU wide referendum.
It’s a matter of trust
Given that the Treaty Document was incomprehensible, it came down to a matter of trust. Do I trust the people who are trying to sell this treaty to me. I would have to say that the answer would be an emphatic “no.” We trusted Willie O’Dea to speak up for us in August of Last year, when, during the Shannon-Heathrow affair, he was full of fighting talk about how if we couldn’t get the government to intervene, “we would find another way.” One month later O’Dea voted on a debate on Shannon-Heathrow he didn’t even attend. He voted for non-intervention, in line with the Government, and the Shannon Heathrow link was lost.
We have Bertie Ahern handling all sorts of money, in a multitude of currencies, from a multitude of sources, and half of it he can’t remember where it came from.
We have Dick Roche, former minister for the Environment, and current minister for European Affairs, who spent his time in the department of Local Government fudging, rather than dealing with, the matter of the City’s boundary extension.
I do not trust the people who tried to sell me this treaty.
So to summarise. I don’t owe Europe anything, Europe has been well rewarded for whatever moneys they have sent us. They have been paid well with our fish stocks and other natural resources. I am not anti-Europe, how dare anyone accuse me of being so. The EEC we joined is different to the EU we are now a member of, and I don’t like the direction the EU is going at the moment. I don’t like bullies. Anyone who says “vote yes or else” can take their treaty and stick it where the sun don’t shine.