UK NEWS

BLOW TO EU BULLIES

A man holds up a 'Vote No' sign as delegates meet with Nicholas Sarkozy in Dublin

Sunday July 27,2008

By Kirsty Buchanan, Deputy Political Editor

A BID to bully Irish voters into backing the controversial Lisbon Treaty could backfire on the Euro elite.

A new poll suggests that nearly three quarters of Irish voters do not want another referendum and more would reject the treaty the second time around.

The revelation plunges the rebranded European Constitution into deeper chaos and casts doubts over whether a second referendum will be held.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who sits at the helm of the European Union until December, suggested a second vote be staged during a recent visit to Dublin.

His call follows the shock rejection of the treaty by the normally pro-European Irish voters last month, when the “No” campaign scored a historic victory of 53 per cent.

Now an opinion poll by think tank Open Europe suggests if that were held now voters would reject the blueprint by an even bigger margin.

The poll of 1,000 Irish voters was held last week in the wake of President Sarkozy’s visit. It concluded that 71 per cent of voters oppose the idea of another referendum, compared with 24 per cent in favour.

Of these, 62 per cent said they would vote “No” a second time and 38 per cent would vote “Yes”.

Open Europe director Neil O’Brien said: “Voters don’t feel that Europe’s political class have respected Ireland’s decision.

By appearing to bully the voters, EU politicians are actually driving more people into the ‘No’ camp.”