The Lisbon treaty is officially back in the news.
An Irish Times poll today shows a change in ‘public attitudes since June with 43 per cent now saying they would vote Yes, 39 per cent No and 18 per cent having no opinion.’
But the pro-treaty side shouldn’t celebrate just quite yet. the Irish Times explains that ‘people were asked how they would vote if the treaty was modified to allow Ireland to retain an EU commissioner and other Irish concerns on neutrality, abortion and taxation were clarified in special declarations.’
Or to put it another way, would you buy something if it was actually something else?
Well yes, I’m sure you might, but you’d want to see what it was first.
So far, all the government have is agreement from a section of the electorate that they’d vote with a treaty that addressed their particular trigger issues.
How those voters actually go on polling day will depend on what formula the government agrees with the rest of the EU – and how well their spin machine works to sell it once they get home.
And of course, how the government raises the tricky issue of a second treaty vote.
