Posted on 10/03/2009 1:31:09 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Bloodied by the recession, and struggling under 20 billion euros of public debt, Ireland has reversed its earlier rejection of the controversial treaty
It was lashing with rain but that wasn't the full reason Paul Callaghan was finding it hard to muster up the enthusiasm to mark his X. "I'm here because I have a vote and, basically, I've been told what to do with it," he said gloomily as he stood outside one of Dublin's polling stations in O'Connell Street on Saturday afternoon.
"Look at the state we are in now," he said. "A year ago I had a job, life was rosy. Today?
Last June, with the Celtic Tiger riding high and the country's economy booming, Ireland, brimming with self-confidence, rejected the Lisbon treaty leaving the European Union leaders stymied.
Bowed and more bloodied than most by the recession, and with its government's finances reeling under 20 million euros of debt, Mr Callaghan, like most of the Irish, did on Saturday as he was told by Europe and reversed his earlier rejection of the controversial Treaty by voting yes.
With more than half a million unemployed and the country now deep in recession, the majority of Ireland's electorate clearly felt they now had no choice but to switch allegiance and, reluctantly, come out in support of the European Union – presumably in the hope that it can help its failing fortunes.
"The whole Celtic Tiger image is dead," said Mr Callaghan, a former store manager, as he stood among a disgruntled group of voters. "When times were good we had the confidence to say no to Europe," he said. "We've learnt a lot in the past 16 months. These days jobs are hard to find. We are going to need the economic backing and security
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
It is hard to understand why people vote for things that will clearly make things worse during economic slowdowns.
Ireland has become a soft socialist state.
Well that was his first mistake, NEVER do what your told to by Europe, in fact do the exact opposite.
Ireland has lost its former sense of Catholic identity, partly the result of hundreds of years of persecution by British Protestants. They stood up to that heroically, but they have been less successful in standing up to the temptations of modernization and secularization.
Nothing wrong with making money and bulding an economy, but they seem to have gone astray.
The Church in Ireland may yet recover, but after hundreds of years of heroic loyalty in the face of persecution and martyrdom, the change there is very sad.
What a dark day in the twilight of Irish history.
Tragic .. and that’s how we’ll lose our
sovereignty and nation, if we don’t wake up.
Plunder the capitalist system, impoverish the
weak citizens; make them desperate and grasping
for quick relief, jobs and manna ... then manna
walks in .. in the form of the Soros Open Society
one worlders with manna, promises and all too
tempting easy relief for the spineless and cowardly
sheeple, control and big brother government.
And good-bye freedom.
If those nasty British Protestants caused Ireland to pass the EU treaty (one wonders why those nasty British Protestants refused to adopt the Euro currency, but the Irish did years ago), then why did Catholic Italy join the treaty? The only countries to occupy Italy have been Catholic-Holy Roman Empire, Catholic Austria, Catholic France. (By the way divorce and abortion are legal in Catholic Italy which has the lowest birth rate in Europe.) Also why were so many of the leaders of what is called the Irish Renaissance Irish Anglicans?
The ‘bail-us-out-please’ vote. Pathetic whores.
Well put! A very sad day indeed.
Read recently that the whole separatist movement was quite lefty. Marxism had a happy home there. Anyone with more info?
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