The Cedar Lounge Revolution

Interesting little comment in an article in today’s EU Observer. The bulk of the article deals with an ICM poll for the Daily Mail which suggests 24% of Labour supporters might not vote for Brown if they do not get a referendum on the proposed revised EU Constitution. Slightly dubious about that to be honest.

The controversy centres on a pledge Blair made to put the proposed EU Constitution to a referendum. Brown now claims, in direct contravention of reality, that the new so-called ‘Reform Treaty’ is substantially different to the proposed EU Constitution and hence does not require a referendum. The Tories, lovers of democracy that they are, have been arguing a referendum is essential.

But it’s the tail-end of the article I find most entertaining where it raises the terrifying spectre of not simply a British ‘No’ vote, but that by even agreeing to hold a referendum, the British might, inadvertently, put pressure on others to follow suit.

“This,” says the Observer, “is exactly what politicians on other member states were hoping to avoid.”

One of them, German Christian Democrat MEP Elmar Brok (Crazy name, crazy guy), felt moved to comment further. “It would be very unfair of the UK if, having more or less got what it wanted in the new treaty, it would then turn round and put this to a popular vote,” he added, saying it would “undermine” the talks on the treaty.“

Outstanding stuff. Marvellous. Let’s examine this in a little detail. Firstly, the suggestion that there is some sort of trade-off at the level of negotiations where a government chooses not to bother the people with these complicated issues and in exchange wins benefits at the negotiating table. Secondly, that giving the people of Britain a right to a voice in how the EU should be run would ‘undermine’ the proposed revised Constitution. In other words, democratic decisionmaking is contrary to what the EU is trying to achieve. And all of this is ‘unfair’.

It’s all the more entertaining, in that darkly surreal way that so much of what the EU does is entertaining, that Brok is one of the European Parliament’s representatives in the negotiations. One of the representatives of the only elected institution in the EU’s structures, and they’re never shy about reminding the other parts of the EU about this democratic mandate they are so privileged to possess, is warning against letting voters have a say. You couldn’t make this stuff up.

But the most astonishing thing for me about this entire process is not the utter contempt the EU has, and has always had, for it’s citizen-subjects, but that such open displays of arrogance and disdain for democratic decisionmaking are largely ignored by both the media and the body politic. And when commented on, is often done so in a positive light as we are told that the EU is too complicated to be left to the people. It should instead rest in the capable hands of people like Charlie O’Connor, Ivor Callelly, Willie ‘Free Shannon’ O’Dea, John Ellis, Martin Brady, Michael Ring, Shane McEntee, Eoghan Harris and so on.

Don’t worry children, they’ll see us right.