Before I forget, congratulations to the plucky citizens of Ireland for rejecting the Lisbon Treaty. This was the European Union's new attempt to concentrate power in the hands of the Eurocrats in Brussels.
Dutch and French voters rejected the similar EU constitution in 2005. This time, all the other EU member states agreed to bypass their citizens and let the legislators decide. But in Ireland, a referendum was required to approve the treaty.
Even though the Irish government and all the opposition parties backed the treaty, 53.4% of Irish voters rejected the idea of relinquishing their independence to a bunch of elitist technocrats — who would undoubtedly undermine Ireland's "economic miracle" (the consequence of adopting low-tax, low-regulation, pro-growth policies that are anathema to the Eurocrats).
Since the treaty had to be approved unanimously by all EU states, the Irish thumbs-down kills it. Of course, that was the situation in 2005, too. But the Eurocrats don't give up easily and don't let democratic elections stand in their way. The Lisbon Treaty was a repackaging of the rejected EU constitution; I suspect they'll be back in a couple of years with the same wine (or rather, vinegar) in a new bottle. Meanwhile, they'll try to figure out how to get rid of that pesky "will of the people" obstacle completely.
