Lisbon Treaty

[animealexis]

So. The Lisbon Treaty referendum is on Thursday, and I have every intention of voting. I got up to Cork on the last possible day to hand in the form to add me to the supplementary Register of Electors and everything. It was quite cool, I've always been issue-conscious and I've wanted to vote for years. However! I still haven't got my polling card for Thursday. Now, the lady that I gave the form into said I'd probably get it later than my parents, considering I'm only on the Supplementary Register this year. But four days before the election, even if I get it on Monday? That's cutting it a bit close, isn't it?

But either way, even if I don't get a chance to vote on it, I'm hoping - and this I'm only saying here, I don't want to influence the votes of the people around me by giving my opinion - quite strongly for a "No" vote. Frankly, I can't really see anything it does for Ireland as a country, the promises made by our lovely new Taoiseach (who really isn't much of an improvement over Bertie at all) just aren't holding up in my mind, and quite a few of the conditions that it will impose on our voting power both in and out of the country - the majority vote increase, for example - seem dubious at best.

And I have to love the Fianna Fáil "Yes" booklet that's making the rounds. Its main argument is what the EU has done for us in the past, rather than what the Treaty will do for us in the future. And really, that's not an incentive to vote positively at all, is it? What annoys me is that I know a lot of people - my dad included - that can't even be bothered to look at the information booklet and inform themselves what it's about! Honestly, that's just annoying. I mean, there's a huge campaign going on to inform Ireland about the decision we're making here, and people just don't care! I mean, I can understand people voting "Yes" if they know what they're voting for. I can more easily understand a "No", but that's personal opinion. But to not even bother and just go in and randomly tick a box on the day? That just baffles me.

Comments

[ritvars.livejournal.com]

If I'd be an Irish, I'd vote "No" too.

[animealexis.livejournal.com]

I'm glad! A lot of people here are confused by the fact that all 27 other countries said yes, but I keep telling them that no one else got to vote on it, so we aren't seeing the European people's real views.