Period of reflection is a con, says Allister
18 January 2006
In a lively debate in Strasbourg on the future of the EU Constitution and the period of reflection, leading Eurosceptic MEP, Jim Allister, rounded on proponents of the Constitution for refusing to accept their democratic defeat and for perpetuating the myth that the problem was "context, not text".
In the course of his remarks the Ulster MEP said:-
"After the Constitution so spectacularly failed its own test for survival, namely approval by all Member States, a report which denies the resulting reality could only have come from the rarefied atmosphere of unreality that is the Constitutional Affairs Committee.
With breath-taking arrogance, this report second guesses and repudiates the democratic verdict of the people of France and Holland by declaring those results were not about rejecting the Constitution but dissent on other issues. Nonsense! The question on the ballot was about one thing only, the acceptability of the Constitution, and the answer was equally clear. Why not face the truth - you lost! Instead, the Europhiles in this House have a new catchphrase - they think it very clever - "Context, not text" is the problem. How fitting it, like the Constitution itself, begins with the word con for, of course, that is what this period of reflection is all about - how can the text be repackaged so that next time they can con the voters into buying the soiled goods that is the Constitution?"
