Will Sarkozy force Ireland to vote again?

It seems that some in the EU want to force the Irish to vote again on the Lisbon treaty, because they didn't come up with the "correct" outcome the first time. From Michael Huntsman at the Brussels Journal:

Sarko Wants to Give Dublin the Mugabe Treatment

Would Nicholas Sarkozy be hot-footing it to Dublin in the dog days of summer if Ireland had voted 'Yes' in its Referendum on the EU Constitution? Of course he wouldn't. He is only going because even he can smell the raspberry the Irish blew at the EU last month. Having spoilt France's grandiose plans for jobs for the boys, expect a whole lot of angry finger-wagging.

As his own spokesman Axel Poniatowski has made clear on his behalf, there is no other choice for the Irish but to hold a second referendum and, regardless of EU and French protestations to the contrary and regardless of whatever emollient nonsense Sarkozy utters in public, behind the scenes Brian Cowen will indeed have to put up with some serious pressure from this angry voyou from Paris to get it right in a second vote and to hold that vote sooner rather than later. Fortunately others are doing their democratic bit. [...]

(bold emphasis mine) The president of Poland is now refusing to put his signature on the Lisbon Treaty, because the Irish voted "no" on it. Both Ireland and Poland know from experience about being dictated to and dominated by an empire, and they clearly see the danger.

The article rightly points out the irony of the EU condemning Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, while simultaneously pressuring the Irish to vote again. The only difference is Mugabe uses violence to get what he wants, whereas the EU will deploy threats via "diplomacy" to try and bully the Irish.

Disrespecting the vote of the Irish makes a sham out of European democracy; it renders the act of voting meaningless. And I expect that it is always a mistake to bully the Irish. They like to be "charmed". If you try to force them or punish them, they're likely to dig their heels in and fight.


Related Link:

Ireland votes "no" on EU superstate