The Hindu : International : Dutch take the cue from French, set to deliver snub to E.U.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 31, 2005

International

International

Dutch take the cue from French, set to deliver snub to E.U.

Ian Traynor

"No" camp comfortably ahead of the Constitution supporters in the Netherlands

LONDON: Dutch Government leaders have issued desperate pleas for the public to back the European Constitution as the Netherlands, in the shadow of the French vote, prepared to deliver a large snub to the E.U. in the referendum scheduled to be held on Wednesday.

Three days before the Dutch vote in their sole referendum of modern times, opinion polls put the No camp comfortably ahead of the constitution supporters, confirming a public opinion trend that has held consistently for more than a month.

The poll findings gave the No camp a lead of around 14 points, with a 3 per cent margin of error. For more than a month, several opinion polls each week have consistently highlighted a strong if surprising wave of Euroscepticism in the Netherlands.

Lacklustre campaign

The weekend surveys indicated that the lacklustre Yes campaign was staging a mild recovery, but not enough to shift the balance when the country votes on Wednesday.

The unpopular Christian Democrat Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, appearing on Dutch television on Sunday before the result of the French referendum was known, sounded forlorn about the probable imminent rejection of a Constitution he helped negotiate. He urged voters not to listen to the message delivered by the French electorate, but to make their own minds up.

All the signs, however, are that the Dutch have already taken that advice, with the polls showing steadily firmer opposition to the constitution than in France.

A senior Interior Ministry official, pro-constitution, said a French No would cause people to stay away on Wednesday, convinced there was no point in voting.

Maurice de Hond, a leading pollster whose latest survey put the No camp ahead 57-43, agreed that an expected low turnout would be even lower following a French snub.

In contrast to France, the campaign in the Netherlands has struggled to catch fire and turnout may be under 40 per cent.

The Foreign Minister, Ben Bot, on Sunday echoed the Prime Ministerial plea, calling on the Dutch to take their own decision, after earlier urging voters to stay away from the ballot stations if they did not understand the constitution properly. That statement was seized on by opponents as both elitist and defeatist, and symptomatic of a Government campaign which has failed to make its arguments resonate when confronted by the easier and more potent criticisms of the anti-constitution camp. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News Update

Stories in this Section

Blair rules out early referendum in Britain

Militants hit back; 20 killed

Iceland to co-sponsor G-4 draft resolution

Angela Merkel to challenge Schroeder

Clinton calls for rehousing of victims

Relic may throw light on rice farming

Dutch take the cue from French, set to deliver snub to E.U.

Swaziland King marries 11th wife

Power station to be fuelled by grass

"Brigadier sold war plan to Pakistan"

No problem over visit by Hurriyat leaders: Pakistan