A THIRD WAY IN OR A THIRD WAY OUT?

Because the Irish have the temerity and sheer bloody-mindedness to occasionally ask their people what they think in a direct way [I think it is called a fairly-worded referendum or something like that] they have occasionally been threatened by the powers in the EU.

The majority of the rest of the citizens of Europe have been denied the right to vote on the treaty however Ireland’s constitution means that they must have a referendum on it.

So when, for their own benefit and all the rest of our benefits, the Irish rejected the treaty in the first referendum there were all kinds of reactions. One suggestion was the expulsion of Ireland from the EU – well, we can’t be having democracy now can we?

Another suggestion I saw was that the Irish government should just learn how to stick unpopular legislation on their people the way the other countries do.

However, in the true spirit of our times a ‘third way’ has been discovered. Oh manna from heaven. Let’s all rejoice.

The people of Ireland will now be offered in the second referendum a chance to shaft the rest of Europe whilst keeping themselves safe from it all.

According to the BBC...

EU leaders have agreed a deal they hope will secure the Lisbon Treaty a “Yes” vote in a second Irish referendum.

Ireland won legally-binding assurances that Lisbon would not affect Irish policies on military neutrality, taxes and abortion, diplomats said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said leaders had agreed to Irish demands that the guarantees would be given the status of a treaty “protocol”.

But he stressed it would not affect the other 26 member countries.

Well that’s a relief, isn’t it? The possibility of determining our own fate won’t affect the other countries.

You can also rest assured that the Irish people will be carrot and sticked into voting ‘yes’ this time much more vigorously than they were the last time.

It is actually unfair on the Irish in the sense that they have to carry the hopes of so many people on their shoulders. I say we remove that burden and we all have referendums ourselves. That way the people of Ireland can get on with their own business which, sooner or later if the treaty goes through with opt-outs or not, they won’t be doing in any meaningful sense.