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The Lisbon Treaty Blame Game
Read more about: Blogging, Lisbon Treaty, Uncategorized 
We have been playing it for a while, though we are repeatedly at pains to point out that there was no single reason why this Treaty failed. Voters voted for different reasons. Anyway, over on his blog Jon Worth gives his two cents on who gets to shoulder the blame in Euro-ville.
The candidates? Charlie McCreevy, Jose Manuel Barroso, Brian Cowen, Peter Mandelson and Bernard Kouchner. That is quite the lineup. Interestingly one of the commenters mention Margret Wallstrom but no place for Giscard, nor Declan Ganley.
Thanks for linking to my blog… You’re right to point out that there’s no one reason – I agree and have debated the other aspects elsewhere on my blog and in other forums.
But to the blame game… You can’t blame Giscard for the original draft, and he generally kept his mouth shut during the referendum campaign. Wallström is well meaning but not immensely effective and – above all – she’s both human and reasonably professional. She would not have been as crude as McCreevy. As for Ganley – well, there’s no blame as such as far as I’m concerned. He helped the No side to win. I’m pointing the finger at the Yes side that was defeated.
Essentially, as I see it, something has to give at EU level. Someone, somewhere has to bear some consequences for the No vote, and it has to be personal. In national politics people carry the can if things go wrong. So it must be at EU level.