E.U. Constitution

Well, I haven't had a whole lot of time looking at the different news sights and blogs to get a feel for how the rest of the world thinks of how the Netherlands voted yesterday for the European Constitution, but I have witnessed a little bit of a reaction.

The Netherlands overwhelmingly rejected the constitution by 62% of the vote. Now I am sure that in the media there are many reasons why this would happen, and they may all be true, unlikely, but maybe...

As it happens, I am sitting smack dab in the middle of the Netherlands as we speak....or write. At the end of the voting day I had dinner with several people of the area....people who voted....and we had a beverage or two and discussed it.

The people of the area where I have been staying all week (Harderwijk, Ermilo and the surrounding area) I think would really be in favor of an EU constitution, if only their politicians would tell them what is in it. The majority of the people that I have talked to here....no, all of the people I have talked to here, don't know what is in the document! The Dutch are told to vote "Yes" by their politicians, but they don't know what that "Yes" vote will stand for.

As far as I understand it from my Dutch friends, the countries that have said yes to this constitution have done it without the majority vote from the people. Germany, Spain, etc. have decided to speak for their people (where have I heard that before) and say yes without the input of a popular vote. I don't know how that plays out for the US, I have been in Europe for about a week now, and I have been treated with nothing but respect.

I think the anti-American sentiment that is being played out in the American press is a lot more hype than truth. I have gone out and mingled with the local people here and have not had any problem, quite the opposite. Most of the people I have spoken to, if they have not been to the states, want to go. They are very pro-America.

I think what this election has done more than anything, it has shown that the days of the Socialist movement is probably over. Gerhard Schroeder has moved the date of his next presidential election up by one year. The conservative Christian leader.....her name escapes me for the moment...anyway, she is making huge progress against Schroeder. Then there is Chirac. In a political move, that I believe was complete suicide in the wake of the EU election loss, has named DeVillipan (yes, that DeVillipan, although I question my spelling) to be his new Prime Minister. He is toast. No one likes or believes DeVillipan (although his suits are nice) or his boy Chirac.

My position, and I must say I am quite alone in this, is that the EU Constipatio...er...tution is done. Too many people in Europe are against it or don't know the ramifications. Also, too many heads of state that are for the Constitution are going to lose in the next election, I think just out of spite or for a scapegoat for soaring inflation and unemployment, for this to pass any time soon. There will be many ammendments and many more votes before it will be ratified....Hmmmm, that sounds familiar too....