OUI!

The vote for the referendum on the Treaty on the European Constitution in France will be taking place shortly. Its ramifications are immense. Andwhile I agree that the debates preceding this vote represent the best of democracy, I’m getting really sick of the lame strategies used by both sides. This blog has decided to endorse the OUI (yes) vote for many reasons, but no matter how convinced either side is, it seems that people always have something to complain about. Most of these complaints, I find, have little or no connection to the actual text that we'll be voting on. People, it's time to get real!

Let’s try to make things very simple – no, the Treaty is not perfect (treaties are by nature about compromise, not about getting everything you want - Treaty of Versailles aside!), but if I could just give one good reason to vote OUI it is precisely that the new institutions will be more democratic in one key thing – the legislative process. And that’s of great importance.

Contrary to the arrangment as it exists today, no law will be made if, in the end, the European Parliament cannot agree with the European Council. The Council will not be able to ignore parliament anymore (Part II, title 5, Chapter I, Articles 33-34). It may good to keep in mind that 70% of our laws are the direct effect of decisions made in Brussels, and people have justly complained that the legislative process was not democratic enough.

So there you have it, reason alone to vote OUI and give Europe back to the representatives of the European people. That’s DEMOCRACY!

Now, I also want to point out that I find the NON arguments mostly reactionary – in the most straightforward sense of the word – a reaction to whatever is wrong in people’s lives.

I also find it really amazingly naive that the NON camp believes that the rest of Europe is ready to espouse their reasons for disliking the constitution and agree to the changes they'd like to see - as if France was going to show the light to the people of Europe who would happen to be in the dark - ça alors! It shows great ignorance of what goes on in most other countries and belittles the democracies of our European neighbors. It is reminiscent of French Imperialism which followed the Revolution.

Besides, the idea of negotiating presupposes that France will have a single voice in those negotiations, not likely considering the wildly disparate voices on the NON side. I don't imagine that Le Pen nationalists will see themselves agreeing with the socialist NON during those negotiations. But, it would be entertaining to see them try to hammer something out. They may be wishing they'd voted OUI!