4. Lisbon (Negative)

So, Ireland finally went ahead and ratified that damn treaty. I'm annoyed about it.

Not necessarily because of the Yes vote, although my personal instincts were No.

It was the ad campaigns, on both sides, that got me grinding my teeth at the mere mention of it in the end. Let's have a look at them, shall we?

-Yes Campaign (clearly the winner in distribution and airplay, government-endorsed):
'Do you want the country to recover from this recession? You do? Well then, you must vote YES! Do it now! Even if it's a month in advance, do it now and practise just in case you accidentally go with your instincts and vote No!' And so on ad nauseam, everywhere.

-No Campaign (underfunded, regrettably portrayed, noticeably fewer ads and signs):
'Do you want a post-Lisbon minimum wage of €1.84? You don't? Well then, you must vote NO! Don't you dare believe the Man, he's not hip or with it like you and us. So keep your beret firmly on your head, look this adorable child in the face and resolve to vote No.' You'd think that with so much less money and paper to play with that they'd try for some intellectual high ground, but of course, by and large they didn't.

And now the government are going to think they can sell us anything they like and we'll go for it. There's going to be trouble over this.

There'll be tears before General Election-time, and no mistake.