"And the greatest irony is… They will not see the irony."

France voted no on the ratification of the latest stage of the EU constitution.

Denmark also voted no.

This means the constitution is scrapped and it’s back to the drawing board.

Non-advocates are hailing this not as a rejection of the EU in general, just in the direction that it’s going. People don’t want this left up to political elites and bureaucrats, but want there to be more popular input.Europe is not ambitious enough. There is a democracy deficit, the favorite term of euroskeptics these days. These voters were tired of the popular vote not being heard in Brussels or having any say in these matters.

By the way, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain all voted yes by even larger majorities than the Non-side got.

A key step towards democratic input into the EU will be dissolving national vetos and sovereignty in certain aspects. Sorry! You don’t get it both ways, with France having a say that halts everything, but with things getting done once they have public backing. I suspect the euroskeptics already know this, and just think that “democracy deficit” is a good quote, and can quagmire the EU for a while longer.

I hope it just accelerates the pace towards responsive, accountable, and powerful institutions that can’t be shanghaied by singular national concerns.