The controversial Lisbon Treaty is set to become law within weeks after the Czech Republic's eurosceptic president conceded his attempt to challenge it was futile. Vaclav Klaus (pictured left), the only European Union leader who has still not signed the document, said he could not wait for a British general election next year which could lead to a Tory government and a possible referendum to bury the Treaty. Mr. Klaus said: "The train carrying the treaty is going so fast and it's so far that it can't be stopped or returned, no matter how much some of us would want that." – Telegraph
Dominant Social Theme: The treaty rolls along?
Free-Market Analysis: The Irish have voted against it. The British don't want it and neither do the French – who voted down just such a European United States a few years ago when the socialist leaders in Brussels still thought they had a chance of passing an actual constitution. We've read part of the constitution by the way – a complex creation that takes thousands of words to arrogate power to the state that the American constitution with far fewer syllables and pages — and a great deal more humility – attributes serially either to a Supreme Being or the common man. But this doesn't sit well with the elitists in Brussels who have been given to understand they can manage things here on earth much better than the Good Lord or anyone else. (That must be why the EU hasn't been audited properly for years.)
Anyway, like the thing from the sea that cannot be killed, the most recent EU Treaty to create what will basically become a federated states of Europe lurches ahead, Vaclav Klaus gave it a good try, and he's not finished yet. But he must be under enormous pressure, and the British, frankly, are losing a window of opportunity to bail out while they still can. The Brits, especially those who generally support the conservative side of the bench, have reason to grouse.
Yes, there is plenty of evidence now that the UK political elite conspired to mislead the public administration after constantly referring to what is now, frankly speaking, a grab for nationalization as a strictly economic union. We are old enough to easily remember the hosannas that accompanied the relatively "open borders" and the way the idea of a Europe without the corrosive paranoia of pre-World War II was hailed as a miracle of peace in our time. The current EU, a behemoth of contradictory regulations, competing interests and increasing red ink is anything but the innocent trading agreement of yesteryear. And the socialists are just getting started.
In fact, the way the EU is going, the bad old days are going to arrive sooner rather than later. We still can't believe how the political elite thinks it will get away with what is in the works. This isn't 25 years ago when Union backers deposed Margaret Thatcher for her opposition, or 50 years ago when they were initially planning the thing. Everyone knows now. There are a million pages on the Internet, all of them decrying the bureaucracy, the pettiness, the meanness and the humbug of this increasingly intolerant and anti-commercial enterprise. It is no free-trade agreement to be sure. Not anymore.
In a decade, doing business in Europe (for regional and local entrepreneurs) will likely be very difficult. Multinationals will rejoice, but they will have the deep pockets necessary to lobby for what they what they want and need. It is the fishermen, the farmers, the tradespeople, who will find their age-old businesses and customs withering away. They have been sold a bill of goods.
The current leadership, meanwhile, must believe it has reason to celebrate. They get together in a room, horse-trade and come away believing they have accomplished something historic (whatever it is). But it is mostly a bunch of men agreeing about something in a room. This process leaves a lot out. Europe is some 300 million people and dozens of languages and cultures that go back to the Stone Age. How exactly do the Spanish Basques fit in here by the way? Are they too, after a 12,000-20,000 year history in the heart of Spain going to be Europeanized? And what does it mean to be an European anyway? Is that like being a citizen of Brussels – the role model for the current Europe – which is currently sinking into a kind of subdued civil war?
Earlier this month in a much heralded revote (what, you didn't hear about it?) the Irish finally complied with EU Czars and voted for the treaty that they had voted against not so long ago. We have an innate distrust of Democracy – the most votes the deepest pockets can buy – and while we think the Irish foolish to vote the way they did this time, we are not surprised. The prospect of a bleak Irish economy and plenty of EU incentives won the day this time round. Or maybe the Irish were just ground down by the pressure. In a generation or so, (we guarantee it) when Irish children are growing up in a stunted society that disallows entrepreneurialism, demands obedience through budgetary and penal manipulation and legislates local and even personal behaviors from the top down, it will be difficult to find a single politician or voter who supported this treaty. They will go on Internet TV and blame each other and long-dead "voters."
But it may not matter by then. We think the EU will Implode much sooner than that. Charlemagne had the Roman Catholic Church and a vital new religion to help consolidate his reign culturally. What exactly does the current Europe have? A kind of muzzy socialist vision that is attenuating every day? Again, the reason the current "treaty" has not been put to vote anywhere but Ireland is because the powers-that-be are quite aware it would be voted down throughout Europe. So what are they basing their certainty on – that people will stand still for a United States of Europe when they would be apt to vote against one if they had the chance?
We figure, as usual, the elite behind the Brussel's power grab is counting on central banking to provide the monetary engine to bribe enough interests groups enough of the time to keep a lid on European discontent. But the one-size-fits all economic policy of Brussels and the European central bank may not be able to do the job this time around. They may end up with inflation, depression and constantly appreciating joblessness, or all three at once.
The economic crisis may be too deep this time and the jobless recovery may be too broad. Then the political games that the elite has played to create the Union may come back to haunt it. There will be no broad reservoir of support, only millions of increasingly agitated voters with their hands out and their palms empty. Who knows, these voters may join American ones – similarly disenchanted – in the creation of a newer and freer society, a truly global enterprise (with local and regional power bases) featuring a less ambitious government and a more honest monetary policy, preferably one including gold and silver, the oldest and soundest honest money of all.
