Madam, - As an expatriate Irishman, I find the arguments of those who supported the Lisbon treaty and would now go against the expressed will of the Irish people wholly specious.
It is staggering that those who lost the referendum seriously suggest we should now ignore the result even though their arguments were too weak to convince most voters. Had the result gone the other way and No campaigners were arguing for a comparable course of action they would rightly be laughed out of town.
Rev Jopseph O'Leary and A. Leavy (August 7th) between them fish a netful of red herrings.The Irish people voted against the Treaty not because the referendum was muddled or because of foreign funding for the No camp. Instead they saw that the Lisbon Treaty was a bad agreement - bad for Ireland and very bad for democracy in Europe.
The European Constitution was repackaged, blurred and hidden in this treaty because the constitution in plain language had already been rejected twice, in France and the Netherlands. The Irish people saw through this ploy and rejected it again.
The message to the two red-herring fishermen is clear: Democracy is about making strong arguments and persuading people of your viewpoint. It is not about trying to change the rules of the game when you lose, which is what they suggest. That is the dictator's way and would be a shameful outcome.
The onus is on the European Council to look at why the people rejected the treaty and negotiate relevant agreements that people want.
The power of argument is the lifeblood of democracy — that is the true message of the Lisbon referendum. It is one the Europhile losers should respect.
- Yours, etc,
ANDREW FINCH, Farlington, Hampshire, England.