Polls in Holland and France show that their publics are overwhelmingly opposed to the EU Constitution.
Dutch No camp takes strong lead (BBC)
The Dutch public appears on course to firmly reject the European constitution in a referendum on 1 June, according to latest opinion polls. A poll for RTL television indicated 54% would vote No, with 27% voting Yes. The Dutch vote is purely consultative, but politicians have said they will take the result into consideration when it comes to a parliamentary vote.
The referendum comes only three days after one in France, where the No campaign has a slight lead. A poll by Centerdata, also published on Thursday, showed 50.9% against the constitution and 28.6% for it.
Despite the longstanding wishes of the elites, it seems, the people of Europe still think of themselves as “Dutch,” “French,” “Czech,” “English,” and “German” rather than “European.” Perhaps that will change over time as the youth are socialized into the EU construct. It took generations for Americans to stop thinking of themselves as “Virginians” or “New Yorkers” rather than “Americans,” and that was with much less history than the European states have and with one language.
Arthur Chrenkoff is right, though, that attempting unification by political campaigning beats the methods used by would-be conquerers in Europe’s bloody past. Ultimately, though, the effect is still the same. There are rational reasons for deepening the EU’s ties across the continent. The loss of political autonomy and, ultimately, of distinct cultures is an awfully high price, though.
