New Anti-Lisbon Alliance formed

An informal alliance of fifteen different groups have jointly launched their campaign for a 'No' vote in the up-coming second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which will take place on October 2nd.

Among others, the new alliance includes three well-established smaller political parties: Sinn Féin, the Socialist Party and the People before Profit Alliance.

At the official launch of their campaign (photo above), Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins, MEP (in the foreground, right) described the Lisbon Treaty as "profoundly undemocratic". He also rejected claims that the guarantees obtained by the Irish government would protect workers' rights.

More than 53% of the Irish electorate rejected the treaty in the first referendum last year, and many people feel very annoyed that the government is now forcing them to vote a second time on the same document, without any major changes made to it.

In fact, the only change is the retention of our Irish EU Commissioner, which was a key demand of the NO campaign last year. Because the treaty was rejected by the Irish, each member state - including Ireland - will now keep its EU Commissioner. (Had we votes 'yes', we would now no longer have a permanent Irish representative in the EU Commission.)

Apart from this one point, nothing has changed. The treaty put in front of us again on October 2nd is the very same we have rejected on June 12th, 2008.
And if the people of Ireland have any common sense left, they will reject if for a second time and send the government the message it deserves and needs to hear.

We all know only too well that the current Irish government is utterly incompetent. It is responsible for our economic decline, the financial crisis and the ever deeper recession.
And instead of coming up with initiatives to stimulate the Irish economy and support especially small businesses, who provide the majority of jobs in the country, all the government does now is talking, waiting for Godot and raising taxes ever further. Meanwhile billions of taxpayers' money are pumped into the sinking wrecks that are our banks, and if Cowen & Co. get away with their plans, many more billions of our money will be committed to NAMA.
This would mean that our children and even grandchildren would still have to pay off the debts that were created by banksters and useless politicians of our generation!

Do you really want to support this government and help it to cling to power at all costs (which we will have to pay)? Then you should vote 'yes' on October 2nd.

But if you want change for the better, want to see Ireland recover and gain strength again, and show the EU bureaucrats that we cannot be bullied into accepting nonsense, then you have to do what 53% of the Irish electorate did already last year: Vote NO and reject the Lisbon Treaty for good.

The Emerald Islander