Sinn Féin - Why ourseleves alone will not defeat Lisbon 2

[sinnfeinkeepleft]

SINN FÉIN - KEEP LEFT: Sinn Féin - Why Ourselves alone will not defeat Lisbon 2

The Lisbon referendum is just around the corner and the party is asking us all to get out on the streets and push for a "No" vote.

Mary Lou and others have been highlighting the consequences of a yes vote and she has stated that "These consequences include the erosion of Irish Neutrality, the weakening of Ireland’s position in Europe, the loss of the Irish Commissioner, the erosion of workers’ rights and public services, the loss of an automatic right to a referendum on future treaty changes, continued participation in the European Atomic Energy Community, advancing the cause of tax harmonisation, the promotion of common foreign and defence policies and the militarisation of Europe and much, much more."


However in my opinion if our argument is simply centred around these points then I feel we will loose this vote. One of the main reasons for my thinking that way is the fact that our opponents will simply say here we go again with Sinn Féin opposing another European referendum, as it has every single one since 1972. We will be accused of being petty nationalists who have more in common with the English Conservative Party than with progressive forces in Europe and our opponents will simply try to pigeon hole us and write us off.


The leadership will no doubt respond to these attacks by saying we are fully committed to the EU, but our record on every other referendum makes that argument sound very weak. We will also say that Sinn Féin wishes to see a Social Europe, but can somebody please tell me what this really means and how we are planning to achieve it.


Personally I agree with Pearse Doherty when he said "Those of us opposing the Treaty also have a responsibility to outline what we see as the alternatives to Lisbon. Saying no is simply not enough."


In my opinion we must not only look at the negative aspects of a "yes" vote, but we also need to convince the people that a "No" vote is positive thing for the ordinary people of Europe. We need to show them that across Europe there is mass opposition to the Lisbon Treaty (and surely if the treaty is as bad as we claim it is for workers’ rights and public services then the opposition will be there). We must bring people from other countries into the debate and show we have support from across Europe. This does not necessarily need to be leaders of political parties, but it must include trade unionist and leaders of other social groups. We need to demonstrate that Sinn Féin is a progressive outward looking party who along with other progressive groups across Europe has an alternative vision for a better Europe.

[Just Us]

SINN FÉIN - KEEP LEFT: Sinn Féin - Why Ourselves alone will not defeat Lisbon 2

The Lisbon referendum is just around the corner and the party is asking us all to get out on the streets and push for a "No" vote.

Mary Lou and others have been highlighting the consequences of a yes vote and she has stated that "These consequences include the erosion of Irish Neutrality, the weakening of Ireland’s position in Europe, the loss of the Irish Commissioner, the erosion of workers’ rights and public services, the loss of an automatic right to a referendum on future treaty changes, continued participation in the European Atomic Energy Community, advancing the cause of tax harmonisation, the promotion of common foreign and defence policies and the militarisation of Europe and much, much more."


However in my opinion if our argument is simply centred around these points then I feel we will loose this vote. One of the main reasons for my thinking that way is the fact that our opponents will simply say here we go again with Sinn Féin opposing another European referendum, as it has every single one since 1972. We will be accused of being petty nationalists who have more in common with the English Conservative Party than with progressive forces in Europe and our opponents will simply try to pigeon hole us and write us off.


The leadership will no doubt respond to these attacks by saying we are fully committed to the EU, but our record on every other referendum makes that argument sound very weak. We will also say that Sinn Féin wishes to see a Social Europe, but can somebody please tell me what this really means and how we are planning to achieve it.


Personally I agree with Pearse Doherty when he said "Those of us opposing the Treaty also have a responsibility to outline what we see as the alternatives to Lisbon. Saying no is simply not enough."


In my opinion we must not only look at the negative aspects of a "yes" vote, but we also need to convince the people that a "No" vote is positive thing for the ordinary people of Europe. We need to show them that across Europe there is mass opposition to the Lisbon Treaty (and surely if the treaty is as bad as we claim it is for workers’ rights and public services then the opposition will be there). We must bring people from other countries into the debate and show we have support from across Europe. This does not necessarily need to be leaders of political parties, but it must include trade unionist and leaders of other social groups. We need to demonstrate that Sinn Féin is a progressive outward looking party who along with other progressive groups across Europe has an alternative vision for a better Europe.

Fair enough but SF is not alone:
It's time to give Lisbon lies the red card - Gene Kerrigan, Columnists - Independent.ie
"There's a blizzard of the stuff headed our way, the intent being to leave us overwhelmed, jaded and ready to obediently swallow not one but two bitter pills prescribed by Mr Cowen's government.
Nama is the bigger of the bitter pills -- it's approximately the size of a grand piano -- a massive transfer of wealth from the citizens to the bank bondholders and shareholders who backed the wrong horse.
The second bitter pill is the re-run of the Lisbon Treaty. (It seems that when we voted last year we didn't understand that the 'No' box was on the voting paper purely for decorative purposes.)"

[TradCat]

It's a bit late for introspection. Get the line straight and hit the streets.

[ibis]

Mary Lou and others have been highlighting the consequences of a yes vote and she has stated that "These consequences include the erosion of Irish Neutrality, the weakening of Ireland’s position in Europe, the loss of the Irish Commissioner, the erosion of workers’ rights and public services, the loss of an automatic right to a referendum on future treaty changes, continued participation in the European Atomic Energy Community, advancing the cause of tax harmonisation, the promotion of common foreign and defence policies and the militarisation of Europe and much, much more."

It might have been worth updating some of those points - those are the same points made by SF about every EU treaty, and some of them have been rendered rather passé at this point.

[sinnfeinkeepleft]

I accept that SF is not alone in Ireland in opposing Lisbon 2, but the point of the article is what i see Sinn Féin needs to do to make its campaign as effective as possible. That is why I posted it in the Sinn Féin section and not the Lisbon section.

I fully appreciate the excellent work being done by other groups and individuals.

[sinnfeinkeepleft]

It's a bit late for introspection. Get the line straight and hit the streets.

Surely we have enpough contacts throughout te EU who oppsoe the treaty. Let's get them over here and allow the Irish people to hear what they have to say. I'm not saying this should be the only thrust of the campaign, but it should play a strong part.

[kerdasi amaq]

"Ourselves Alone", that is a translation I don't like. "We alone", is what Sinn Fein means to me.

We Alone, the People of Ireland, have a right to rule Ireland. We Alone have the right to say what is law and not law in Ireland, and no foreigners, least of all Englishmen, have any say in the matter!

The English aren't really the enemy; they're just bought and paid for mercenaries of the city of London.

[Question R24U]

'We ourselves' should stick to a simple message. Decisions about Ireland should be made in Ireland by Irish people so that the People of Ireland can hold the decisionmakers accountable.

We have gained by being in Europe but we have also lost considerably too (eg fish stocks) and on balance we should say thus far and no further.

Sinn Fein caught the public's imagination in 1917-18 with a not too dissimilar message.

[kerdasi amaq]

What have we gained in Europe, that we couldn't have done for ourselves? Except for a load of money, most of which but not all, comes from VAT paid in Ireland anyway. "We should say thus far and no further". That's what we should say to them, all right. Nil, nil, and nil again until they get the message that NO means NO!

[Unitedirishman]

Funny story, I was chatting to a man who I believe to be a Fine Gael supporter in the pub the other night. He told me that this time around he is voting NO because he believes holding the referendum again is crime against democracy. However I'm not claiming that all or even some Fine Gael voters will do this. I just thought it was interesting.