After the apathetic ’si’ that Spain gave to the proposed EU constitution, attention is now turning to the referendum in France, now pushed to an earlier date by a Jacques Chirac concerned that support for this revolting document among the French is fading away.

But could the Netherlands be about to spring a surprise? The London Times has this to say:

“The Government has announced that a referendum on the constitution will take place on June 1. It will be the first time that Dutch citizens are asked what they think of the EU. While international attention has been focused on the French referendum, just three days earlier on May 29, the Dutch are far more likely to slam on the brakes of the constitutional juggernaut. Polls in France still show a majority in favour of the constitution, but the Government in The Hague has been shocked to find that a majority of its citizens are opposed, and by no small margin. A recent poll was telling. It showed that 42 per cent of Dutch would choose to vote “no”, against 28 per cent who plan to vote “yes”. The Netherlands is the only founding member of the EU in which opinion polls suggest that the constitution will be rejected.”

What makes the Dutch poll so remarkable is that, with the exception of the maverick Geert Wilders, an MP forced by death threats from Islamic groups to spend his nights in a prison, almost the entire Dutch political establishment is busy supporting that national suicide note that Brussels likes to call a constitution.