Of all the 27 member states in the European Union, only one, Ireland, held a referendum prior to ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon. This, not because the Irish government wished to hold a referendum - like every other member state, it feared that the people, «ignorant» as they are (see Paul Lee’s comment above) might not vote precisely as the political establishment wished them to do - but because the Irish Constitution required one. Indeed, the Irish did vote no - and since they voted in the wrong way and Ireland being a little country (if France or Germany had allowed their citizens to vote and they had voted against the treaty, the draughters would have had to go back to the drawing board), they were told to vote again. This procedure is what is meant by the term «democracy» in polite society….
Of all the 27 member states in the European Union, only one, Ireland, held a referendum prior to ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon. This, not because the Irish government wished to hold a referendum - like every other member state, it feared that the people, «ignorant» as they are (see Paul Lee’s comment above) might not vote precisely as the political establishment wished them to do - but because the Irish Constitution required one. Indeed, the Irish did vote no - and since they voted in the wrong way and Ireland being a little country (if France or Germany had allowed their citizens to vote and they had voted against the treaty, the draughters would have had to go back to the drawing board), they were told to vote again. This procedure is what is meant by the term «democracy» in polite society….
Henri