Right answer to the wrong question

AFTER all the lies and bullying in the referendum campaign, we now have to endure the lies about why we voted no.

How could Brian Cowen and his colleagues credibly explain to Brussels why the Irish voted no when at no stage did they listen to us?

I am not anti-European, and most of Ireland is pro-European, but we’re not foolish enough to think everything drafted in Brussels is good.

This is especially true when we see the other 496 million Europeans denied a referendum on this issue.

We have only the late Raymond Crotty to thank for the fact that we got to vote on this.

Otherwise our government would have voted on it long ago, against our wishes.

If the EU wants to reorganise its institutions, that seems logical.

I could see the point of having a treaty about the number of commissioners and qualified majority voting.

But there was no good reason to include in the same treaty sneaky conditions requiring us to upgrade our military equipment, amendments about privatisation, supporting the nuclear industry and half-baked sweeteners about accountabilty that didn’t survive scrutiny for one minute.

It was a bad deal for the ordinary citizen and taxpayer and the other EU leaders kept the decision well away from their voters for that reason.

So, instead of engaging in hysterics over the democratic choices of the people, our media should point the finger at where the blame really lies. We didn’t give the wrong answer — they gave us the wrong treaty.

And on that the people have made their judgement.

Tim Hourigan

12 Cedar Court

Kennedy Park

Limerick