Rietveld switches sides and moves to the 'no' camp

I've said it before, David Rietveld is the one remaining sane member of the Dutch Green Party (GroenLinks). Now he proves it once more. While his party supports the EU constitution, David won't:

'History shows that obstructionists have always been compensated by the EU. For years it's been the sole negotiation tactic of the French. The British "got their money back" that way, the Danes have created more room for themselves. The Netherlands are the highest contributor per capita to the EU. I don't mind paying for a good cause, but then I want to have a say in it. And I won't settle for weak compromises just because they're easy.'

Indeed.

21:19

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We have ways of making you vote 'yes'

OK, some of them are extremely childish, others are too rude for my taste, but some Photoshopped 'Vote Yes for the Constitution' parodies are actually quite funny. See more of them here.

19:57

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Dutch Central Bank: trading in guilder too cheaply for euro did increase prices

Which means, of course, that secretary Gerrit Zalm of Finance did lie. According to André Szász, former director of De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch 'Fed', the guilder was traded in too cheaply. This resulted in price increases. Szász will acknowledge this tomorrow night in Zembla, a tv program of Dutch PBS (credit to whom it's due). The (Maoist) Socialist Party has already called for a parliamentary inquiry.

Meanwhile, EU Rota (who apparently has way too much time on his hands) knocked together a few numbers and came to similar conclusions. As this graph shows as well:

(Note: CPI means Consumer Price Index. The Eurozone consists of the twelve countries that have adopted the euro.)

17:45

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Stratfor sums it up

'A 300-page constitution, by dint of its very size, sums up the first problem facing Europe: The EU is governed by a bureaucracy whose ways cannot be understood by ordinary citizens, and which does not intend itself to be understood. It is therefore not trusted.'

'The deeper issue is sovereignty. The government of France is asking its people essentially to transfer major elements of sovereignty to a state that France cannot control. The French do not see a common identity with the rest of Europe, and the rest of Europe does not see a common identity with France. The EU is rooted in an alliance of convenience that is rapidly becoming inconvenient. We do not know what will happen with the French referendum on May 29, but the important thing already has happened. If France cannot be absolutely counted on to vote for the constitution, then the constitution is dead.'

(In its geopolitical analysis newsletter. Not online, unfortunately.)

17:14

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