'No' Vote Looms in EU Poll as the Dutch Fall Out of Love With Europe

[chlamor]

'No' vote looms in EU poll as the Dutch fall out of love with Europe

Ian Traynor in The Hague
Friday May 20, 2005
The Guardian

Seated in a handsome 19th century office around the corner from the main railway station in The Hague, Ria Oonk is facing an uphill struggle against Euro scepticism. Telephone hotlines and websites, hundreds of thousands of glossy leaflets, TV spots with rappers, are pouring forth from her office as she attempts to mobilise an electorate that shows every sign of being thoroughly glum about the referendum on Europe's future.

<snip>

It will be the first referendum in the Netherlands since the end of the Napoleonic wars. A government official noted that as the first referendum for 200 years "it may well be the last one for another 200 years, especially if the verdict is no".

But that, to the consternation of the Dutch government, is the way things are going as the people engage in their first real national debate about the EU.

Two recent opinion polls put the no camp comfortably ahead, 60-40 in one, 53-47 in the other. And most dispiritingly for Ms Oonk's campaign, only one in three voters have said they will vote in a country where 80% regularly turn out for general elections.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/eu/story/0,7369,1488267,00.html

[Selatius]

1. Does anyone have any recent polls on French attitudes?

I heard they may vote against the EU Constitution as well. Anyone hear any word on this?

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. A poll on Tuesday showed the "no" vote in France at 51%

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/c3fd9dca-c634-11d9-b69b-00000e2511c8.html

The 'yes' side has called in loads of European leaders to try to persuade the French to vote for the constitution - except Blair.

The absence of anyone from the Blair government was deliberate. The "no" camp on the French left - who hold the key to the swing votes in the referendum - regard Blairism as only marginally less evil than Bushism or Thatcherism. The presence of a senior British figure would have harmed, rather than helped, the leadership of the Parti Socialiste's chances of persuading their electorate to vote "yes".

The rally in the Cirque d'Hiver or winter circus was attended by the Spanish Socialist Josep Borrell, president of the European Parliament, the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, the former Portuguese president Mario Soares, and Dutch, Belgian, Danish, Polish, Romanian and Bulgarian politicians.

Speaker after speaker poured scorn on the suggestion - argued by the French far left and taken up by part of the Socialist and Green centre left - that the proposed treaty is a hard capitalist blueprint for destroying public services and exporting French jobs to Eastern Europe. They also took exception to anxieties fomented on the left - taking up an issue dearer to the far right - that France will be inundated by Eastern European workers.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=639792

[Maple]

2. They all get to vote on it

And sooner or later, some country is bound to vote against it.

They'll simply do a re-write, and try again.

[deliusmax]

3. not all countries will have a referendum

In Germany the parliament simply approved the constitution with an overwhelming majority.
Right now politicians all over Europe keep on saying there will be no rewrite, it will be interesting to see what happens when the French, Dutch or British vote against it.