Race to the Bottom

An in-depth look at the French street's view of the upcoming referendum on the EU Constitution comically skims past every major issue.

1. A former EU commissioner expresses concern that a no vote will turn Europe into "a suburb of Shanghai." No one seems concerned that a yes vote will turn it into a suburb of Algiers.

2. Most of the Constitution's supporters are socialists. Most of the opposition is Communists and Nazis. A huge void fills the center, which should be the group asking if it's in Europe's best interests. But "Europe" can no longer be clearly defined, culturally or geographically, so no one knows what those best interests might be anymore.

3. The entire campaign leading up to the May 29 referendum has consisted not so much of rival political parties jockeying to persuade voters, but of government officials forecasting doom if the people fail to rubber-stamp their power grab. In The Netherlands,

The government is spending $4.4 million on last-minute campaigning, saying it is confident it can still swing the vote. Government ministers have hit the streets to pass out leaflets and talk up the constitution. Mailboxes are stuffed with pro-Europe brochures, printed at taxpayer expense.

Europe has merely exchanged their titled aristocracy for an army of faceless bureaucrats, who remain as distant and unresponsive as ever.

4. France and Germany, the EU's biggest economies, have boasted annual growth rates around 1%, unemployment rates around 10%, crushing tax burdens, and entitlement systems on the verge of collapse. European companies desperate for cash flow are happy to do business with the world's blood-soaked dictators, and their governments, desperate for the tax revenues, are happy to let them. Like all preceding EU treaties, the EU Constitution pays ample lip service to free markets. But socialist Europe has long struggled to stay afloat, and has had to auction off its security and identity to do so.

The EU Constitution (all 325 pages of it) will only entrench delusional elites and guarantee more of the same failures. Either way, what Muslim invaders could not achieve at Vienna in 1683 will soon be easy pickings. Gates of Vienna has more.

UPDATE: The EU Constitution does not specify the method of ratification, only that all 25 member states must somehow "get to yes." 15 member states are submitting it merely to a parliamentary vote: Belgium, Germany, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. 10 are holding a popular referendum: Portugal, Spain, France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Ireland, U.K., Denmark, the Czech Republic, and Poland.

In those ten states, Eurocrats are concerned that, especially in France and The Netherlands, the populace will vote no. There is no reason to be gratified if they do. The EU Constitution is a done deal. Too many elites have invested too many millions of man-hours compromising, writing, and building their careers on it. It can't be renegotiated and they won't give up. Thus, leaders of any member state whose voters reject it will likely submit it to parliament. Member state politicians, as power-hungry as the next petty Eurocrat, are sure to vote yes.

The popular vote is just to give it a sheen of legitimacy -- and is just as optional -- as in Cuba or Iran. Resistance is futile.