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Poll shows no apetite for Lisbon II - Ganley
Monday, 17 November 2008

This morning's TNS/MRBI Opinion Poll published by the Irish Times shows that there is no public support for any attempt to re-run the failed Lisbon referendum, Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley said this morning.

Responding to the poll, Mr. Ganley said that it showed that even with significant tinkering, Lisbon would not win the support of a majority of the Irish people.

"First, it comes as no surprise that the Irish Times did not have their pollsters ask people the obvious question, - "Do you want a second referendum?". I suspect they knew all too well what the answer to that question would be.

Secondly, it should give the elites in Brussels significant pause to see a poll which shows that even with significant tinkering, their Frankenstein's version of Lisbon would not win anything close to majority support from the Irish electorate, nor would it if it were put to referendum anywhere else across Europe.

Thirdly, previous experience has shown that these polls often underestimate the "No" vote and I would remind people that the last published poll before the referendum in June showed the Yes campaign with a slightly larger lead than this.

Overall, for my small part, I am confident that the Irish people would reject Lisbon again should the Irish Government be so spineless as to allow themselves to be bullied into asking us a second time.

Of course, Libertas will not rest on its laurels. We will continue to campaign for a strong, democratic, and accountable Europe, not just in Ireland, but in other countries where the people have been denied a vote on our European future.

We believe that in any referendum, here or abroad, our message of democracy, accountability, transparency, and a prosperous, strong Europe, will trump the scaremongering and personal attacks of vociferous minority who continue to hold democracy in contempt.".

 
Criticism of Klaus "Very Revealing" - Libertas
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Senior Spokesperson for Libertas, Caroline Simons, issued the following statement this evening in response to criticism of Czech President Vaclav Klaus from various sections of the Irish political establishment today:

"Today's spluttering, incoherent, bluster from the political establishment in this country is very revealing, in that it shows how angry they are that the central basis of their argument for a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty has been so devastatingly undermined.

Ireland is not alone in Europe. President Klaus has shown himself to be a friend to the majority of Irish citizens who rejected the Lisbon Treaty. That he is the incoming President of the EU council is even more significant.

Dick Roche, Joe Costello, and Billy Timmins have spent today publicly regretting the fact that the Irish public were able to hear the views of a fellow democrat. I would hope that that would give them pause for thought.

The Irish people have eyes and ears. They can clearly see the truth of Ireland's position in Europe, and they can also see that the people they have elected would rather that they did not have all of the facts.

Combined with the reports yesterday that the Government may consider limiting access to the airwaves for its opponents, this paints an uncomfortable portrait of the view of democracy held by our leaders, - especially given Minister Roche's continued churlish and deceitful references to "free debate" in Ireland.

I congratulate President Klaus on his courage, dignity, and service, and we in Libertas will never for one moment regret that the Irish people are able to hear the stated positions of our European colleagues".
 
Lisbon proponents have not learned their lesson - Ganley
Thursday, 23 October 2008

Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley issued the following statement this evening in response to recent criticisms from those who led the unsuccessful "Yes to Lisbon" campaign in June of this year, and in response to continued deliberate attacks regarding the financial affairs of the Libertas organisation:

"At this moment in time, the Irish people are looking for political leadership on the issues that matter to them, - not a continued attempt to re-fight the battle over the Lisbon Treaty.

It is saddening to me that in these times, a section of our parliamentary class seems pathologically obsessed with a defeated and rejected document, and even more saddening that they appear to think so little of the electorate that they believe that the Irish people can be persuaded to change their minds if Libertas is somehow "discredited". This was their strategy for almost the entirety of the Lisbon campaign, and it was as unsuccessful then as it will be in the future.

This was a great achievement by and from the Irish people, and the result of the referendum has left the political leadership of this country without a monopoly on public opinion. That change threatens their very existence, and it explains repeated attacks made on me, my business, and the organisation that I lead.

Libertas has complied to the letter with all regulations governing political funding in this country. Our accounts for 2008 are at this moment obviously not complete, as the financial year has not ended, but those accounts, when they are published, will show this to be the case.

The €800,000, approximately, spent by us on the Lisbon campaign pales into insignificance when compared to the huge financial resources made available to the "yes" campaign by  Brussels, squandering European taxpayers money to force through an anti-democratic deal that European taxpayers don't want. The "Yes" campaign was largely funded by public monies made available through political groupings in the European parliament. Our campaign was funded by private citizens of this country. That is a core difference between us.

Joe Costello, Dick Roche, Nicholas Sarkozy and the unaccountable elites in Brussels may not like this fact, but they cannot change it.

This strategy will not work. We have made our choice, and it must be not only respected, but heeded.  The same formula has now been rejected by in a free vote in three member states. It is unwanted, and the more people learn about it, the less they like it. Libertas is determined that the Irish vote will not be ignored in the manner of the French and Dutch rejections.

Unlike the Irish Government, which is actively cooperating with Brussels interests to isolate Ireland, Libertas has actively sought to build an alternative. Over the past four months, we have travelled throughout the EU, meeting political leaders and ordinary citizens. We have sought, and received, support for the Irish position, and we are working to build a platform that could give all EU citizens a chance to express their views on Lisbon, - and indeed on the future of democracy and prosperity in Europe, - at the ballot box next June. It is an ambitious and challenging agenda, - and is by no means a done deal - but it is the task that the Irish Government has singularly and disgracefully ignored, which is why it has fallen to ordinary citizens.

Next June, the people of Ireland will have another chance to give their verdict not only on the continued attempts to circumvent their democratically expressed will, but also on the performance of those who we elected to represent us in these challenging times. It will be the Irish people's chance to vote again not just on Lisbon, but on the performance of the Irish Government, and indeed the opposition.

Libertas played a small but not unimportant role in giving the Irish people an honest choice in 2008, and the continued attempts by the Irish and European political cartels to overturn the sovereign will of a free nation make it more and more likely that we may decide to do so again in 2009."

 
Declan Ganley interviewed on Ireland's Late Late Show
Monday, 06 October 2008

Declan GanleyLibertas Chairman Declan Ganley was interviewed on Ireland's The Late Late Show last Friday, during the interview he spoke about how he made his millions, his real relationship with the Pentagon and how he funded his successful anti-Lisbon campaign. He also took on his critics head on saying he is a patriotic Irishman and a committed European.

The interview in full is available from the RTE website here .

 
 

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