BRENDAN J. MESKELL,
Sir, - In light of the weekend's Barcelona summit, there is now renewed discussion of re-running the Nice referendum. Your editorial of March 18th casually talks about trying to get a higher number of potential Yes voters out on the day to ensure the treaty's ratification. There is an important reason why I shall definitely be voting No the second time.
I voted No to Nice last June. If the electorate had voted Yes, I would have duly accepted the wishes of my fellow citizens - as a democrat one must take the rough with the smooth. Therefore I would expect my fellow democratic citizens to respect the decision that was made when a No vote was returned.
Instead, I feel as if I am being treated like a disobedient child by the Government (and the two major Opposition parties and most of the status quo including, alas, the normally excellent Irish Times) for not voting the way in which they wished. There appears to be an à la carte attitude to democracy here: you can vote any way so long as it is Yes.
I fully support the concept of a united Europe and I am not opposed to expansion to the east. Because of the EU, a war between, say, France and Germany is now unimaginable. However I am opposed to the neo-liberal policies which the EU seems so bent on enforcing (e.g. the energy liberalisation policies agreed at Barcelona) as well as its highly bureaucratic and unaccountable nature which, in my opinion, is reflected in the refusal by the EU to respect the decision of its citizens.
If the Taoiseach is so determined to see the Nice treaty passed, may I suggest to him that he stops wasting his time and energy worrying about another campaign and that he simply implements the treaty which his electorate rejected as he appears to have scant regard for their wishes, at least on this issue. The Nice treaty should have been scrapped and an alternative treaty drawn up to present to the people.
Some day I hope to see a more representative EU based on a genuine social democratic programme but I cannot support it in its current form and neither, it seems, can a substantial number of Irish people. - Yours, etc.,
BRENDAN J. MESKELL,
St James Road,
Dublin 12.