Delivery must follow grudging yes vote

The margin of Thursday’s endorsement of the EU fiscal treaty may have been greater than anticipated.

Nevertheless, it would be foolish to pretend that this was not a reluctant, grudging acceptance and that it, and the low voter turnout, underlined a dangerous loss of faith in our political system and the democratic deficit nibbling at the authenticity of the European project.

Though the vote settled a domestic issue, it hardly made waves across the EU. In a Reuters round-up of the euro crisis yesterday our decision, so vehemently fought over here, barely merited half a sentence in a 1,000-word report.