‘Lulas’ right to oppose powerbrokers and threat to public services

SINCE Bertie Ahern’s infamous “lulas” comment, several pro-Lisbon politicians have tried to justify it by claiming Sinn Féin and other anti-treaty campaigners have always called for a ‘no’ vote and they were always wrong.

Not true. The campaigns in Ireland against plans for increased centralisation, militarism and privatisation have found a strong resonance in many other European countries to such an extent that EU leaders — Brown and Sarkozy, for example — are desperate to avoid referenda where possible.

These campaigns have forced the EU elite to modify the most unpopular of their ambitions because they know they will be defeated at the ballot box.