Anthony Coughlin of The National Platform that has been fighting the good fight in Ireland since long before Libertas was even a gleam in Declan Ganley's eye has sent me an article about Ireland that appeared in the New York Times. None of them seem all that impressed by the Celtic Tiger and its ability to go on thriving in the new economic situation.

View full article here

One advantage Ireland`s got over us (but not over other countries ) - their powers that be are loyal to Ireland, not to a general world .

Quite a lot but there's also the low Corporation Tax which a blind EU eye was turned to. It meant a lot of company headquarters moved there which could as easily move elsewhere. Microsoft has a large establishment there, but I'm sure it's pretty much low tech stuff, packaging up software.

Having said that, I wouldn't dismiss it all as an EU wheeze and a bubble. I don't think their educational system has been degraded the way ours has and there's a confidence there which didn't exist before.

Had the pleasure of being introduced to an Irish ex Treasury civil servant at a function this weekend.... a total EU fan.Was amazed at my knowledge of EU affairs and said In all the times he had visited UK I was the the most knowledeable person he'd met on the workings of the EU...Thanks only to reading this blog for last 2 years..I'd like to think I left an impression,so thanks Richard for giving me plenty ammunition with which to throw at him...... its a real rush when you get to see the whites of the enemies eyeballs.He seems to think the EU "saved" Europe from another world war,gave us more control over immigration,provides the best brains from Europeto rule over us(apart from the British second rate Commission appointees,apparently we dont take it seriously enough),and provides an accountable government (once the Lisbon Treaty is allowed come into force),that the UK is some awkward irritating interloper,but the future is rosy thanks to the EU project.Boy was he hopping up and down when I gave him my opinion..........but fair do's he at least I had acknowledged it was an informed one........everyone he had ever met up to that point had never given him a decent argument against.

What worried me the most is his dismissal of the Irish Referendum..."they got it wrong" he said and for many different stupid reasons,which was in his opinion a travesty especially when all the rest of Europe had ratified it.The "yes" vote beaten by a hotchpotch of uneducated voters in his opinion,the man was seething with contempt......they had been "got at" by Murdoch he reckons,who had also "got at" Gordon Brown and made him promise a referendum to the UK electorate...at least they had a chance to vote on it I countered,we would have buried it too, given the same opportunity.

Oh.....,and the CAP was going to be reigned in and modernised, so thats OK,and our MPs were doing such a fine job running the country weren't they(got to admit he had me there)but as I said at least their our elected idiots not some secretly appointed idiots ......fishing industry?.....looked at his shoes uncomfortably......unfortunately we were interupted before I got onto CO2 emmission quotas.....democratic accountabilty and the toy parliament......foreign policy......who was paying for all this,etc etc......, just as well,it was a public function that my wife and I had been invited to as guests,me physically scrapping on the floor would have been a little unseemly.......and put me in the doghouse for at least a week.

I came home elated at having had a chance to do battle with a consort of "the colleagues"...small beer perhaps, but I enjoyed every minute of seeing the surprise on his face.

Anthony Coughlin may have been fighting longer than Declan Ganley and Libertas, but Libertas are taking the fight right across Europe where it belongs

If you call surrendering right across Europe "fighting" I suppose you are right. Libertas is selling the pass.

Which fight would that be? The fight to create integrated European politics? How likely is that in your opinion? It's what the EU has been trying to foster for decades and Ganley has now signed up for it as well. And just in case you haven't read the various postings on Libertas here they all are:

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2008/1 ... -mode.html

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... ogant.html

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... nking.html

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... ws-is.html

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/03/wooops.html

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/03/oh-goody.html

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... n-fog.html

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... tails.html

Enjoy.