Ahem, Ahern, a horlicks
Critics of the EU treaty ran a strong campaign, its backers a lousy one
ONLY a third of Ireland's 2.9m voters took part in the referendum on June 7th, and only a bit over half of those said no. But that was enough to send the European Union into a tizzy: Irish voters had rejected the EU's Nice treaty, their leaders cannot ratify it, and the treaty, a necessary prelude to the EU's enlargement, cannot come into force until they do. Why did this usually Europhile nation thumb its nose at Brussels, its own government and main political parties, its employers and trade unions, its bishops and farmers, and many forecasters too?
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Ahem, Ahern, a horlicks”
From the June 16th 2001 edition
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