I’m going to return to the Sunday Business Post piece on the Lisbon Treaty briefly, not least because I think that the failures of the Yes campaign, while certainly attributable as Wu Ming suggests to a certain B. Ahern and a broader societal disquiet at the political discourse, also include roots that grew in unexpected places. Pat Leahy in his article tackles this from the angle of the ‘failure’ of the Yes campaign. The failures of the Yes campaign are shown by other statistics, too. The political parties persuaded their voters to come out in favour of the treaty with only some success. But, I think there is a more interesting issue hidden in the statistics. Consider the following. About half of Fine Gael voters who came out on the day voted in favour of the treaty;... Similar posts

Within the  current referendum campaign, there is a tendency amongst many on the ‘YES’ side to look back to the achievements of the past instead of forward towards the challenges and opportunities which await Europe in the coming decades. This tendency is understandable; given the advantages which this State has experienced since becoming a member of the European Union in 1972. The undoubted economic, political and social progress of our nation in the last thirty years has been largely driven by Europe. Be it women’s rights, infrastructural development or access to the internal market, it is not difficult to see the many areas in which our membership of the Union has played a key role in allowing a modern, economically successful and socially vibrant Ireland to emerge. In... Similar posts

Welcome to this week's edition of Words on Wednesday, a concept unique to the Irish blogosphere, which sees me interview various figures from all walks of political life. Taking my questions this week is Dr Diana Panke, a lecturer of European Studies at University College Dublin. My thanks to Dr Panke for taking my questions on the Lisbon Treaty. So without further ado, let's begin...You are a lecturer in European Politics at University College Dublin. Could you explain a bit about some of the subjects you deal with at the University?I am teaching classes on European integration and European governance on the BA and the MA level as well as qualitative methods on the PhD level. The classes on the European Union introduce into or analyse into detail the basic structure of the EU, its main... Similar posts

The debate resumed today at 1 o'clockMinister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, Deputy Dick Roche (Fianna Fáil):The main aims of the Lisbon reform treaty, as spelled out in its preamble, are to enhance the efficiency and the democratic legitimacy of the Union. This treaty is different from those that went before it. It was not produced behind closed doors, rather it was crafted in public. The reform treaty is not, as some would have us believe, the work of fevered minds with no mandate.A second and equally important point is that this is a balanced treaty that represents a particularly good deal for the small and medium-sized member states. The latter point should be bourne in mind by those who mindlessly sloganise about voting “no” to get a better “yes”. There is no... Similar posts