The "Nons" Have It

Fire of Liberty

Well it seems the people of France has taken a bold step forward in preserving the national sovereignty of France from the ever creeping supranational EU led by a gaggle of unelected bureaucrats in Brussels. It's about time that the people of France stood up to the political elites of Europe and showed them that the decision by people in these nations a far more important than the dictates of the EU and its commissioners. After seeing the results of the referendum which show a 70% turnout and the "No" camp winning a healthy 55% of the vote, I can pretty much concur that the French people have pretty much demonstrated their antipathy towards Chirac's beloved constitution. This rejection has also sent shockwaves through the French government resulting in Chirac replacing PM Jean-Pierre Raffarin and initiating a reshuffle of the President's cabinet. It also has placed the EU leadership in a deep lull which has seen its much beloved Constitution run into a serious stumbling block, what with a founding EU member state like France telling the EU to go jump in a lake.

If you want to see an organization being thrown for a loop, just read this piece in The Financial Times. Seems the folks in the EU headquarters in Brussels have taken the rejection of the treaty on the chin in the similar vein as a nation paying tribute to a befallen soldier our leader with the lowering of their flag. Its really sad that an entity that was supposedly formed on democratic ideals can only stand and respect certain decisions by the people of Europe. (As long as they vote the way the folks in Brussels want them to) As I noted in previous posts, their are a considerable amount of EU elites arguing that even if the French reject the EU Constitution the referendum process must continue in the other European states. I agree that the other governments who have offered its people a referendum should proceed on with the votes instead of handing it over to the parliaments but I'm dismayed at the thought of the French leadership - at the behest of Chirac - holding a second referendum after seeing what the other nations have to say about the Constitution. This absurd notion seems to have been shot down in this Leader from The Times, have a look:

Not that it will be M Chirac'’s instinct to be that humble. If his record is any guide, then lesser heads will roll and blame allocated elsewhere. There have already been indications that he will urge others to continue with the ratification effort and if they fall into line he might come back to the electorate of France to demand a second vote with a political gun pointed at them.

It would be an outrage if others conspired to support him. The view of the French electorate should be deemed to be the last nail in the coffin of this unloved treaty. If, as expected, the citizens of the Netherlands again condemn it on Wednesday, then it will be more than six feet under. Rather than casting around for excuses and scapegoats, politicians, at home and abroad, should acknowledge the obvious. This text and the enterprise that produced it has long lacked the public enthusiasm that is required of democracies. The EU constitution is the dead parrot of the forestry of European politics.

Eventually the EU political elites will learn that this proposed project will never get of the ground if they ignore the people's will and continue to move the goal-posts to get a desired result. You cannot have a United States of Europe without guaranteeing the rights of the people and their respected nations (Federalism). I guess the framers of the EU Constitution wanted all the power centered in Brussels and the heck with the rest. Well from the results of Sunday's vote in France, I think that the people of a France have said the heck with Brussels. Expect much more of this come June 1, 2005 when the Dutch head for the polls, with the "No" camp amassing a hefty lead, see here and here.

Seeing the people of France and the Netherlands exercising their right to freely go to the polls and decide the fate of the EU, I'm reminded of all the people who have sacrificed their lives to ensure such rights. With this being Memorial Day weekend and the 61st Anniversary of D-Day just around the corner, it is refreshing to know that the sacrifice of the US, UK and various allies were not taken for granted. The people of these respected nation's have shown once again that they will not be beholden to the dictates of an supranational body like Brussels but were their own masters. I think that the soldiers who died freeing Europe from the clutches of Nazi Germany, would be very happy to see some 60 years after WWII's conclusion that the people have the right to determine the fate of their nation through the ballot box. So as we think about our soldiers and their sacrifices just remember that there's a lot of people in Europe who are free today to vote their conscience, even if they never credit us. (An aside note, there's more friends of the US in the European citizenry than you think, it's similar to the red states in America.)

So carry on your fight for a Europe free from the mettlesome folks in Brussels, we in America can remember the days when we faced a similar problem. Anyone remember King George III? Oh bye the way, Happy Memorial Day.