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May 28, 2005
One for the Web?
Posted by Dana Blankenhorn
The European Constitution's impending failure in France is being credited to the Web. (Picture from Wikitravel.)
As the BBC reports:
This is the first major campaign in France in which the internet has become a key weapon, with bloggers and internet-users becoming the "No" campaign's front-line troops - not just in terms of influencing public opinion but also in rallying the French public to attend its campaign events.
If it happens, and the Web is credited after-the-fact, it would be a first, and it would be important.
As for Europe? I have a cunning plan...
Instead of submitting a Constitution with all its fine print to a vote of the people, why not have the heads of state agree on a Bill of Rights, rights any European should have against both European government and Europe's governments, rights that would be enforced through European courts once the treaty comes into force.
Now that you could put to a referendum. If the Bill of Rights is simple, and simply written, it should win approval just about everywhere (although you'll be surprised at how many will oppose even that).
Only after a Bill of Rights comes into force should a Constitution follow.
Worked here. The U.S. Constitution would never have passed the states without the promise of a Bill of Rights. (Look carefully at the tower to the left. It's in Las Vegas.)
Comments (4)
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Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for over 25 years and has covered the online world professionally since 1985. He founded the "Interactive Age Daily" for CMP Media, and has written for the Chicago Tribune, Advertising Age, and dozens of other publications over the years.
1. dave on May 28, 2005 03:25 PM writes...
Perhaps we just don't want a European constitution.
Permalink to CommentI certainly don't.
2. Philip Murphy on May 31, 2005 11:24 AM writes...
I have to disagree..
Europe's been moving towards unity for at least 200 years now. Ironically, Napoleon Bonaparte, the Emperor of France, wanted to unite all of Europe I believe (though I am no historian). He fought wars against all the powers of Europe to do so. That he failed does not alter the fact that ever since then Europe has been slowly moving closer together. I cite Bismarck's 'Drei Kaiserbund' the Entente Cordiale, and the creation of the ECSC, the EEC, the EC and the EU as pan-european groupings as evidence of Europe drawing together
Imagine the irony then when France decides to reject the constitution.
I quote Marshall McLuhan's famous comment about globalisation "We are now living in a global village". The boundaries between people are not geographical anymore.
I can communicate and contact anyone in Europe by phone, by e-mail or simply book a flight by Ryanair to Paris for €29 one way excluding taxes *grin*. We are moving towards unity, and I think that it makes no difference to the european, except to bring them closer together economically and socially. This is a great idea surely!
The nation-state concept is dying, if not already dead, yet people seem intent on living in the past and letting sentiment cloud their judgement. For shame!
Permalink to Comment3. Fred on June 1, 2005 05:49 PM writes...
> Only after a Bill of Rights comes into force should a Constitution follow.
The thing is, the 25 (soon to be 27) countries won't even agree on a BoR.
> Worked here. The U.S. Constitution would never have passed the states without the promise of a Bill of Rights
But the context is very different too. The US was born from some young regions, with no organized government. The EU is made of 25 sovereign nation-states, with not even a common language and culture, and at different levels of economic development. Hence, no chance of ever achieving a US of E any time soon.
Permalink to Comment4. Dave on June 2, 2005 06:07 PM writes...
Who's to say a bill of rights is a good idea anyway?
Permalink to CommentThe right to bear arms may have been a good idea at some point in the US's history, but right now I'm very happy with the tight gun control on the UK, which has no written constitution.
Once committed to legislation, documents like these are very hard to change, and that's a bad thing whichever way you look at it.