LIBERTAS:LIBERTAS FOUNDER Declan Ganley said yesterday he would be available to comment on Monday on whether he was about to launch a new campaign opposing the Lisbon Treaty.
The businessman, who played an important role in the first referendum campaign, claimed in a newspaper interview yesterday it was “profoundly undemocratic” to ask the Irish people to vote again on the treaty.
“The Irish people had a vote on the Lisbon Treaty. They voted No. A higher percentage of the electorate voted No than voted for Barack Obama in the United States of America. No one’s suggesting he should run for re-election next month,” Mr Ganley told the Wall Street Journal.
“Not one comma has changed in the document,” he added.
Mr Ganley contended that the Lisbon Treaty is the “same treaty” as the European Union constitution rejected by French and Dutch votes in 2005.
“When the Irish were asked the same question, they voted no also. Those three times that it was presented to an electorate, the people voted no.
“This is manifest contempt for democracy. It is a democracy-hating act . . . This is so bold a power grab as to be almost literally unbelievable.”
Mr Ganley, however, also told the newspaper he was “a committed European”.
“I am not a Eurosceptic, not in any way, shape or form. I believe that Europe’s future as united is the only sensible way forward.”
Following his defeat in the June European Parliament elections, Mr Ganley said he would not be involved in a campaign against a second Lisbon Treaty referendum.
“I will not be involved in the second Lisbon campaign, I’ve said that up front,” he said at the time.
When contacted by The Irish Times yesterday, Mr Ganley said he could not comment on whether he was about to launch a new campaign. He said he was at meetings and would be available for comment on Monday.
When asked about Mr Ganley’s possible return to the campaign trail yesterday, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said: “Mr Ganley is free to campaign. I have no information about his intentions – that’s a matter for himself.”
Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche said he did not think a decision by Mr Ganley to re-enter the Lisbon debate would provide any new momentum to the No campaign.
“He tramped around Europe saying the European elections were a referendum on the treaty and he didn’t win a seat. So he got his answer,” he said.