EU Leaders reluctant to consult citizens on a revised Constitution

"Europe's leaders are united around two incompatible beliefs", notes the weekly. "The first is that their citizens want them to press ahead with reviving most or all of the constitution. The second is that it is wisest to avoid testing this thesis by asking those citizens directly in new referendums. ... As one top Eurocrat puts it, the thought of further referendums inspires 'absolute, sheer terror' in Brussels. This terror may explain why so many EU leaders are rooting for Nicolas Sarkozy to win the French presidential election. Forget ideology: what counts is his plan to ditch the constitution and rush an 'institutional treaty' through the French parliament without a referendum. ... In the name of decency, if nothing else, it would be nice if the union's leaders would admit that, when it comes to discovering what their citizens want, their hearing is no better than anybody else's."

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