The French Vote
The French held a referendum yesterday on the new European Union constitution. I have no great revelations about the issue, Vaara at Silt or Avedon Carol at The Sideshow may have something substantial to say, but I haven’t studied the constitution.
What caught my ear when listening to the BBC World Service last night was the alignment of the two sides in the vote. The French EU vote was cast by 70% of registered voters with 55% voting Non and 45% Oui. The Yes/Oui voters represent the political center of French politics; the No/Non voters were both extremes.
The constitution was a compromise, as any such document must be, and it was rejected by people who refuse to compromise. I don’t see a “Plan B” in this situation. The reality is that to achieve such a result, the constitution must have been nearly perfectly balanced, apparently too balanced to be accepted by anyone except the center.
This is a troubling result in regard to US politics as it points to a situation where compromise is not possible. You have to wonder if we are moving the same way: that we can no longer live together in the same country.
