The EU: “A Pervasive Unreality”

Another excellent contribution to Open Democracy on the fallout from Lisbon yields a clear sighted analysis of just why so many people think the Lisbon campaign and fallout stinks;

But the Irish voters are not the only surrealists in the latest European psychodrama. A day before the vote, European political leaders had passionately argued that success for the “no” campaign would be a death-verdict for the Lisbon treaty; a day after the vote, European leaders argued with equal passion that in fact nothing really important had happened and that the treaty’s ratification should continue.

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The more these leaders are ready to ignore the sense of crisis and disappointment expressed by the voters, the more voters are ready to reject any idea or policy coming from on high. The problem is less that Euroscepticism is on the rise as that Euro-enthusiasm has disappeared.

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Today the world is shaped either by visionary authoritarian leaders or by powerful grassroots democratic movements - and Europe is lacking both. Europe has once again become the “old world”.

In a short phrase: nail. on. head. This is the best piece of analysis I have read on the Treaty. It does not seek to belittle the idea of voting no, nor does it reify the single model of progress we are being faced with presently as giving us little alternative.

Watching Questions and Answers tonight was like being in a paralell universe. It is completely assured now that all energies are being put into a rerun. We are still getting shite lines like “lisbon was hard to sell” when that really translates as “we couldnt be arsed getting briefed on it until it was too late” and that all points to a “lets do it again but this time with feeling” second election.