. . . from Brussels bureaucrats.

Over the weekend, there will be a pile of hand-wringing editorials written by people who have never read the Treaty of Lisbon, but honestly think that whatever the EU’s functionaries want to do must be right, and that allowing people to vote on something that affects the way they are governed is absurd.

Richard Delevan, writing in the Guardian, explains why in the one place people were allowed to decide — Ireland – the vote failed:

In the end, Irish voters were angry about a perceived loss of control – of the economy, of defence policy, of cultural values on issues such as abortion and euthanasia. The vote took place against a backdrop of a sharply deteriorating economy and soaring anxiety. Two days before voting, statistics showed a 40-year record in the monthly increase in unemployment. Retail sales have dropped three months in a row, while inflation fed by mortgage payments, energy and food has gone up. The housing market is in freefall.

Certainly most European leaders are reluctant to see their citizens reject the EU’s central project. That’s why they dressed up the old, rejected constitution as an apparently benign treaty – like limiting the cod catch or something – and forced it through their various parliaments and assemblies, thus bypassing any consultation with the taxpayers who will be forced to live with the multitude of devils in Lisbon’s deep reservoir of details.

Only by luck were the Irish given a chance to do what most Europeans would love to be able to do and vote on whether they wanted more government in their lives. They voted “no” by a convincing margin and saved Europe, at least until the EUniks can figure out another way to implement a far-reaching treaty without bothering to ask the people what they want.

Of course, they could always engage the democratic process and arrive at a useful and appealing consensus, but that would mean trusting the voters. Bureaucrats trust process, not people.

I must confess, I was surprised by the vote, since I thought the Irish would be disinclined to bite the European hand that feeds them cash. I’m glad I was wrong, but Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, is already threatening to take the money back – not normally the way bureaucrats practice bribery.