Ireland has voted Yes to the Lisbon Treaty under tremendous duress from the combined ranks of the EU bureaucracy, most of the media and the most right wing business elements in the country, including Ryanair and Intel. Even the US Chamber of Commerce joined in, chorusing that Ireland would be cast out into the cold and darkness if it dared vote no. The government and the main opposition parties, including the Greens, also joined in this deception. Yes posters from both the governing Fianna Fail party and the opposition Fine Gael party carried the slogan "Yes to Lisbon and yes to jobs". The people fell for it.
Now the news emerges that yesterday at the referendum count the Finance Minister, Brian Lenihan, was interviewed by Irish state television, RTE, and asked "was it the promise of jobs that swung the Yes vote?". To which he replied "We never promised jobs as a result of the Yes vote."
So now we have it. The comment has shocked Ireland and left a bitter aftertaste. Already many US multinationals like Dell have up sticks and moved to Poland. There is a photo of Lenihan with the jobs posters here. All I can say to the Irish people is, don't say that you were not warned.
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