A View From Middle England - Conservative with a slight libertarian touch - For Christian charity and traditional belief - Free Enterprise NOT Covert Corporatism

Saturday, January 26, 2008

If I said I was anti-Irish, what would you say?

The Irish government will, at some time, have to hold a referendum on the EU Treaty. It's all part and parcel of their consitution. If there's to be a change in the law affecting the Irish constitution, then the people must decide by referendum. The Irish opposition leader Enda Kenny has called on Prime Minister Bertie Ahern to set a date for the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, so as to stop the "anti-European groups" filling the vacuum.

Have you noticed (you must have, it's so blatant), how people like Mr. Kenny can get away with describing people as being "anti-European" as if they are rabid foreigner haters. If I said I was anti-Irish, I bet he'd be the first to jump up and down claiming racist/ethnic/whatever discrimination and the rest. Mr. Kenny and his ilk lose the plot and the argument when they talk like this. Many people opposed to the centralising, bureaucratising, undemocratic nature of the EU, are married to foreigners, speak another language other than their own, trade and work with other nationalities, and generally want to see a prosperous and contented Europe.

Just for the record Mr. Kenny, I'm neither. I'm not anti-Irish any more than I am anti-European.

I do not know of any serious-minded politician expressing opposition to the EU Treaty who is "anti-European". UKIP and the English Democrats both want to succeed in their own ways with European co-operation. Those in the Conservative Party calling for a referendum want the EU to be less legalistic and far more about trade and commerce. Even Labour Party members with reservations about railroading the Treaty through are no way "anti-European".

People like Mr. Kenny are "anti-democratic" and we all need to be on the look out for those types! So let's have the Irish referendum. Let's discuss the policy differences, and let's see who is who in the debate.

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