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(28/07/08) Poll reveals Irish animosity towards referendum rerun

Almost three-quarters of Irish voters are opposed to a second referendum on the EU's new reform treaty, a new poll published yesterday (27 July) revealed, dealing a blow to EU leaders' hopes of rescuing the text.

71% said they do not want to vote again on the reform treaty, while only 24% are in favour, according to the Red C poll conducted by the eurosceptic Open Europe think tank.

Of those who voiced an opinion, 62% said they would vote no in a second referendum, while 34% said they would back the treaty, which aims to overhaul the Union's institutions and procedures.

The new figures would mean that, compared to the first run on 12 June, where 53.4% of the Irish rejected the text, the no camp could further increase its lead by 6 percentage points to a commanding 24-point lead in a rerun.

17 EU member states have already completed the ratification process, through parliamentary procedures, while Ireland is the only country to have rejected the text. To enter into force, it has to be ratified by all 27 EU members.

EU leaders have been piling pressure on Dublin to come up with solutions by the next major EU summit in October, but the government has already made clear that it would need more time.

In yesterday's poll, carried out between 21 and 23 July, 67% of the Irish agreed with the statement that "politicians in Europe do not respect Ireland’s no vote", and 61% of the Irish disagreed with the view that if all other 26 EU member states backed the treaty Ireland would have to support it as well.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the rotating EU Presidency, had triggered a public outrage in Ireland ahead of his recent visit to Dublin over alleged remarks that there would be no alternative to a second referendum. Sarkozy, however, insisted that he had not voiced any such demands, but that "at some stage or another, the Irish had to give their opinion".

However, in the poll 53% said they would be less likely to vote for Prime Minister Brian Cowen again if he called for another referendum.

"EU leaders are trying to force Ireland to vote again are playing a very dangerous game, and it looks like Brian Cowen could be putting his political life on the line by calling a second vote," said Open Europe director Neil O'Brien.

He added: "By appearing to bully the voters, EU politicians are actually driving lots more people into the no camp."

Ireland's foreign minister Micheál Martin rejected the poll results, accusing the think tank of "outside interference in our national debate". He said that he does not believe that his country has anything to learn from what he considerred an anti-EU body like Open Europe.

GroenDe enige partij die sociaal én milieuvriendelijk is.

www.groen.be

De Groenen/EVAGroenen en Europese Vrije Alliantie in het Europees Parlement.

www.greens-efa.eu

Samen ijveren voor een beter Europa en klimaat?