Ireland’s 2nd Referendum on the Lisbon Treaty proposed by the European Council

The Irish electorate’s resounding “Yes” to the Lisbon Treaty this weekend (67.1% Yes, 32.9% No) has been welcomed by political leaders throughout the European Union and by European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso.
This time round Irish voters supported the Treaty, although some protagonists have been critical that the question was put to the people for a second time. Although if you aggregate the vote…

Lisbon wins with 60% of vote.  Irish Times has the the up to date results.

7.30pm: With polling stations open until 10pm this evening, turnout so far is reported to be high in the Dublin area yet low elsewhere in Ireland. It is anticipated that with the working day now done – for most, at least! – a late surge of voting will take place this evening as commuters return home and to their local polling booths.
The Irish Prime Minister, Brian Cowen, this morning said he was “cautiously optimi…

Previous posts have indicated that the No campaign on Lisbon has been more creative and compelling in their poster campaign.  It remains unclear to what degree their better posters will have an impact on the end result, but they certainly are entertaining and attention getting.  Fortunately for the Yes campaign, Ryanair has a last minute ad that challenges the No supporters, if not in creativity, certainly in blun…

Two days to go to Ireland’s referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. With airwaves and letter-boxes now saturated with campaign sound bites and paraphernalia, the polls are saying it looks like Lisbon will be passed, though perhaps only by a slim margin. Still, in politics as elsewhere in life, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is always possible, and the Yes side is spending the remaining time engaged in frenetic ye…

The article linked in the previous post indicated that the No campaign on Lisbon has the edge on creativity, at least judging by the posters the two sides have developed.  Here’s further evidence.

We promised readers of Global Vote some visual stimulation on Ireland’s Lisbon Referendum campaign. The debate on posters is an interesting one, and surfaces at every national ballot. “Are posters effective? As an environmental hazard, shouldn’t they be banned altogether?” The fundamental problem is that the detail and nuances of any lengthy, complex document is difficult if not impossible to accurately enca…

First off, we have the Wall Street Journal (September 17^th), which falls down on its own usage of alarmist rhetoric (”peddling phantom terrors”), a practice that has unfortunately characterised  the political campaigning of Lisbon I and II. That WSJ would assert that “it is for the people to decide”, and that “we will not join the chorus of those who claim to know what’s bes…

The campaign for Lisbon ii is now well and truly on. Activity has hotted up in the last week as the protagonists on both the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ sides focus on the prize. Posters, media attention and personalities are emerging and while the serious side of the campaign has so far been dominated by claims and counterclaims from both sides about the meaning and likely consequences of the outcome, the fireworks have been genera…

Notwithstanding the previous post, it appears the ubiquitous Mr. Ganley will not be absenting himself from the debate on the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.  He appears today in an article in the Wall Street Journal continuing to press his opposition to the Treaty.  A key insight into his view is in the following passage:
It’s easy to see why Mr. Ganley has made himself unpopular in Brussels. And yet, he avows,…

Déjà vu, some would say. Different season, same reason. On June 13th 2008, in keeping with our constitutional obligations, the Irish people were asked to go to the polls to ratify the Lisbon Treaty by means of a referendum, rather than via parliamentary debate. ‘Lisbon’ is a treaty consisting of amendments to the two main EU Treaties – the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the Europea…