The Meaning of No

There are two scenarios that I can think of for the EU after a French No. 1) Drift and confusion 2) Left Wing backlash We British Eurosceptics must hope for the former. A lifeless EU is exactly what we need and organisation without morale or leadership. We can push harder for reform, generate arguments and generally cause trouble. The latter is a nightmare but bearing in mind where the resistance comes from a very likely scenario. Take the following comments from the Nons

• It's a threat to our wages Social Europe is raising the lowest salaries. Liberal Europe is lowering them
• Chirac is caving in to the opponents of the constitution
• The constitution is a ``liberal straitjacket

From Chirac:

Our Anglo-Saxon partners, both inside Europe and outside Europe, object to this constitution precisely because it's too interventionist, too humanist

From a frustrated CEO:

Only in France do you find right-wing parties openly rejecting the free market

Our only hope is that a certain young ambitious politician replace Chirac as candidate in the next election.

The best social model is one that allows everyone to work,'' said Nicolas Sarkozy

And that most certainly is not the failed Social Model beloved by our French and German friends.