Sort of. - Edit 1
Before modification by Inigo Montoya at 04/10/2009 02:23:52 AM
This sums up everything that is wrong with the EU. In short - you are not giving us the correct answer when you vote, so keep voting till you get it right. Europe doesn't trust the people to do the right thing, so it simply ignores them, and the speed with which they pounced on Ireland once the recession hit to scaremonger them into the 'right' decision was pathetic.
Ireland rejected the Lisbon Treaty v1 for specific reasons to do with tax and abortion laws, so it was taken away, revised and fresh assurances put into it addressing those specific parts. So what Ireland has voted on now is the Lisbon Treaty v1.5 and it has now accepted it.
To me this is democracy in proper motion. I agree that there was some degree of 'scaremongering' in the Yes vote about the economic situation, but if the specific problems people had with the original treaty have been addressed, is it not then viable that the question be put to the people again? Especially if a "No," vote this time around would have completely sunk the treaty for all time and they'd have had to start again from scratch?
Ireland rejected the Treaty because the government here was too inept to explain to the people what the Treaty was and wasn't about. Ireland is very excitable when it comes to certain issues, specifically abortion, taxes and military independence. Despite the fact that the Lisbon Treaty in no way affects Ireland on any of those issues, there is a portion of the population here that is very Euroskeptic. Last year, those skeptics ran a much better campaign before the original Lisbon vote and Ireland ended up voting "No".
It isn't undemocratic for a treaty to be voted against in one form and then be voted on again in an amended form. Although, I understand how ridiculous it can seem at face value. The truth of it is, Ireland is lucky it got a second chance to vote on this, because regardless of any "scaremongering" by the Yes campaign, Ireland needs the EU way more than the EU needed Ireland to pass the Lisbon Treaty.