AN ASTONISHING aspect of the Lisbon Treaty referendum campaign was the lack of activity by so many TDs and their local organisations across large swathes of the country.
Many of our politicians simply didn’t bother to mount a serious campaign on an issue that has such profound implications for the country’s economic future and its role in the world for a generation to come.
The half-hearted approach to the referendum of so many of those involved in all the pro-Lisbon parties starkly contrasts with the frenetic activity they engaged in during the comparatively trivial local and European elections in June. It seems the notion of “national interest” is simply beyond the ken of many engaged in party politics.
Even the way the old Fás controversy was reheated by the Opposition for paltry political gain, at a critical stage of the referendum campaign, showed scant regard to the imperative of securing a Yes vote.
Read Full Article »