And Brian Crowley, the Irish leader of the UEN Party, who was also present at the meeting, insisted that, despite the resounding “No” vote by the Irish in the recent referendum, the Irish in fact “wish for the Lisbon Treaty.”
He also took Crowley to task for claiming that the Irish people want the Lisbon Treaty, when they only recently rejected it in a firm “No” vote. “If Mr. Crowley speaks of an insult to the Irish people,” he said, “then I must say that the biggest insult to the Irish people is not to accept the result of the Irish referendum. In Ireland I met somebody who represents a majority in his country. You, Mr. Crowley, represent a view which is in minority in Ireland. That is a tangible result of the referendum."
Crowley rebuked the Czech President, “You will not tell me what the Irish think. As an Irishman, I know it best.” To which Klaus responded, “I do not speculate about what the Irish think. I state the only measurable data which were proved by the referendum.”
Whereas for the rest of us,
No, still means no.
Brian Cowen, the Taoiseach, has told his fellow European leaders that he does not intend to take “no” for an answer from Ireland's voters. Instead he has committed himself, a second time, to seeking ratification of the Lisbon treaty that they rejected by 53.4 per cent to 46.6 per cent six months ago.
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