SVP presented Bulgarians and Romanians as crows. Source: AP.Despite the predictions, Switzerland did not offer unpleasant surprises and almost 60% voted “Yes”. That comes to show that the Swiss have understood the positive effects of immigration and maybe even the obvious fact that all Bulgarians and Romanians that wanted to work abroad are ALREADY there - mostly in Spain and Italy. But this is not the argument I wanted to make.
Since the rejection of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in France and Holland, referendums in Europe have been perceived as challenges and obstacles to European integration. That is why 26 out of 27 countries opted to ratify the Lisbon Treaty without holding a popular vote. Ireland has been pointed as the tricky part in the ratification process and has received quite a lot of attention even before the referendum there was held especially because of that.
However, the three consecutive “No”’s should not let us forget that referendums can also produce positive results like it happened in Switzerland. Most people have also forgotten that Spain and Luxembourg have said “Yes” to the Constitution in referenda. And hey, you could never tell when a negative result is good - just look at Latin America …
Hugo Chavez’s ambitions of lifting the constitutional limit on presidential terms have been denied by a referendum in 2007.
(22 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)
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yeah, the swiss were a pleasant surprise for romanians and bulgarians, especially because of the 60% Yes vote. this may also show that the swiss are more open minded than some people might think. and from what i saw, the UDC, the main party in the No camp,had quite poor arguments…
or it might also be, as i pointed out in my entry today, that nationalism is sometimes a tool used by politicians for manipulation, but that the people generally have more friendly feelings towards migrants, towards other europeans in generals, and so on.
Nationalism has always been used as a part of parties’ political strategies, no doubt. What I wanted to stress is that the positive referendum in Switzerland comes to remind us that a plebiscite does not necessary mean an obstacle to the plans of the political establishment and can be healthy as the Venezuelan example shows
Haha! The Venezuelan example. A good one
I think countries have very different approaches to the so-called “popular will”. I mean, one can naturally ask why have a referendun if you chose your representative already and entrusted them with the power to “represent” you? On the other hand, you can say this whole representative democracy thingie lacks accountability big time. Personally, I tend to be skeptic of the Swiss constitutional system, but at the same time I totally disagree with the “trustee” type of representation…
Now, if you want to dig deep into the referendum-related issues, one can ask himself “How democratic is it to vote again and again on the same thing until a “Yes” result is achieved?”
When I look around me and I see how keen Irish people are on their referenda….mmm….I start to think this instrument is becoming abused!
Well done, Hristo Hristov. An interesting discussion. However a referendum shouldn’t be seen as simply a means to an end - a way of getting what you want anyway. Referendums are also about increasing the degree of public involvement and engagement with politics and policy making, and in a democracy that is a good thing even if you don’t always agree with the outcome.
Ireland has a good tradition of engagement in politics, and that shouldn’t be abused by expecting people to vote on a Treaty deliberately drafted to be as complex as possible.
By the way - Chavez has just won his referendum!
I completely agree and I am trying to support the case for separate European elections in Bulgaria just because the campaign will bring that engagement and teach people what the EU is about.
I have one answer to those two - as I already said - one can ask himself “How democratic is it to vote again and again on the same thing until a “Yes” result is achieved?”
I think that Chavez ia a nice guy!
you can always trust a dude with a medal on his chest.
I’m more than a bird I’m more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It’s not easy to be me IM Hugo Chavez!!