World of Public Affairs » Ireland

A Lisbon Referendum in Great Britain?.

Bill Black — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:04:03 +0000

As Ireland prepares for its second vote on the Lisbon Treaty, which is designed to improve the governing structures of the European Union, the sabers are rattling in England. The shadow Foreign Minister gave an interview to the Telegraph that makes clear his opposition to Lisbon, but thoroughly muddies the water in terms of what he, and his Conservative Party, plan to do about it. Here’s his position:

There will be a referendum, but only if the treaty
is not ratified by all 26 other European countries before the general
election. If, however, the treaty has been approved before polling day,
then… you will just have to wait and see what happens.

I suspect he secretly hopes the treaty is ratified by the time of the next general election in Great Britain, which must happen before June of 2010. Otherwise, the debate about Europe will consume the election and the early months of the Cameron administration.

Meanwhile, in Ireland, while the vote is tightening, the Yes vote is still favored. It’s interesting that the division on Lisbon not the typical left/right political fight. It appears that both the far left and the far right oppose the treaty, with support coming from the center. A compelling argument on the left is the following, propounded by Proinsias De Rossa, Member of the European Parliament from Ireland:

“The reality is the Lisbon Treaty was negotiated at a time when the
Social Democrats were in the majority in the EU. We had 11 out of 15
members States; now we have the situation where 17 of the member States
are centre-right out of 27 so the balance is completely changed.”

So, Lisbon offers the left the opportunity to institutionalize its fading political power. You can see the MEP’s statement in full below:

Can Lisbon Make It This Time?

Bill Black — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:44:47 +0000

The trends are negative for the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland. It was widely believed that the economic crisis had shocked the Irish people into regretting their previous vote against the treaty. So, a new vote was scheduled. As the vote on October 3rd approaches, support is diminishing for the treaty. According to European Voice:

With the referendum only a week away, support for the Lisbon treaty has risen to 48%, according to the poll. In the last Irish Times poll, published in early September, the ‘Yes’ side was put at 46%. However, the ‘No’ side has also gained ground, from 29% to 33%, as the number of undecided voters has dwindled from 25% to 19%.

Not good. There remains considerable room for erosion, but another No on Lisbon will send shock waves throughout Europe and will set back to the cause of a “United States” of Europe by a generation. Watch this one closely. It’s important.

Irish Marxism

Bill Black — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:29:32 +0000

A fundamental precept of communist thought is that the means of production should be commonly owned. It is the private ownership of the means of productions that results in the exploitation of the working class. In the early days, means of production meant land, since societies were mostly agrarian.

It would seem that Ireland is taking advantage of its current ownership of property to embarked on some central planning reminiscent of the early Marxists. The Irish Independent reports that the Irish government, is planning to use its zoning and other powers to bring about social benefits in the disposition of its newly acquired property holdings that has come about through its backing of bad real estate loans. The agency formed to back these loans is the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).

The government seems to recognize the risk involved. To wit:

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said that while NAMA had a commercial mandate and its function was to maximise return to the taxpayer, he was “not ruling out the possibility that useful social opportunities may emerge”. But he quickly added that he was not out to “rig the system”.

It will be interesting to see whether this approach leads to positive social changed, combined with a good return on investment, the proverbial “win-win.” Or whether it goes the way of previous attempts of a “planned economy.”

However it turns out, it is more evidence of the 21st century trend of deeper involvement by governments into the private economy.

Stay tuned.