Lisbon supporters "peddling phantom terrors to scare us into voting Yes, says Wall Street Journal

national | eu | other press Thursday September 17, 2009 16:54 by Patricia McKenna - Peoples' Movement

Economic claims by the Yes side on the Lisbon Treaty debate are rubbished in todays Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal challenges ‘patent absurdities’ of Yes side on Lisbon.
Today’s Wall Street Journal Europe Editorial says Minister Lenihan is “peddling phantom terrors to scare the Irish people into voting Yes” and that “Ireland has no reason to fear the consequences of a No vote on Lisbon

Today’s Wall Street Journal Europe Editorial says Minister Lenihan is “peddling phantom terrors to scare the Irish people into voting Yes” and that “Ireland has no reason to fear the consequences of a No vote on Lisbon”.

The editorial has been welcomed by former MEP and Chairperson of the People’s Movement, Patricia McKenna who says, “At last someone from the elite world of finance has challenged the spurious claims of the Yes side. Last Friday, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan told a press conference that "a 'No' vote will signal to the rest of the world that Ireland has retreated into economic isolation." This in turn would lead to capital flight from Ireland and higher interest rates and borrowing costs for the Irish economy.

McKenna said, “It is truly regrettable that during the most crucial referendum campaign in the history of this State Ministers have been allowed get away with such unsubstantiated claims. It has taken a foreign media outlet to expose them for what they are -“patent absurdities”

She went on to say “Preying on people’s fears, in fact, seems to be the chief strategy of the Yes campaign. As the Wall Street Journal quite rightly notes - “It is a measure of the desperation of the supporters of the treaty that they have resorted to patent absurdities in their efforts to secure a Yes vote from the Irish people the second time around. It should hardly need stating that But in a world made skittish by last year's global credit panic, it's just possible that someone might, at least in the absence of thought, take them seriously.”

People on the No side of this debate have consistently called on those on the yes side to engage in debate on the actual Treaty but he have until now refused to do so. If they are so convinced they are right then what are they afraid of? She asked.