This week, when the Irish have a second chance to vote "Yes" to the Lisbon treaty, might just mark the beginning of the end for one of the more degrading and long-drawn-out farces of recent times – the eight-year-long battle to unite "Europe" under a single political constitution.
Short of Karzai-style stuffing of the ballot boxes, the European and Irish political establishments could scarcely have done more to push this second Irish referendum in the way they want. To ensure a "Yes" vote, all the normal rules governing balanced media coverage were suspended. The European Commission has poured €1.5 million into an unprecedented advertising blitz.
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