5 Million Petitioners Versus 17.4 Million Voters Isn’t An Increasing Remain Majority President Tusk

It would appear that one of the Presidents – as with French governments in the Fourth Republic and unlike buses there’ll be another along in a moment – of the European Union, Donald Tusk, is either unable to count or is ignorant of the basic method of democracy. But then EU President and democracy isn’t a mix we’re likely to see in a lifetime, is it? For his contention is that 5 million people – including, according to reports, 800 Idi Amins – signing a petition to Remain is an increasing majority over 17.4 million people who voted to leave.

That isn’t how it works:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]EU cannot betray ‘increasing majority’ who want UK to remain, says Tusk
EC president hails those who marched against Brexit and millions who petitioned to revoke article 50[/perfectpullquote]

What increasing majority?

So far we’ve a march that claims 1 million, a march which in reality had perhaps 300,000. We’ve a petition of 6 million which 800 Idi Amins. And even the original of those is dead.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Tusk said: “Let me make one personal remark to the members of this parliament. Before the European council, I said that we should be open to a long extension if the UK wishes to rethink its Brexit strategy, which would of course mean the UK’s participation in the European parliament elections. And then there were voices saying that this would be harmful or inconvenient to some of you. “Let me be clear: such thinking is unacceptable. You cannot betray the 6 million people who signed the petition to revoke article 50, the 1 million people who marched for a people’s vote, or the increasing majority of people who want to remain in the European Union” [/perfectpullquote]

There is no increasing majority that is. Further, that’s also not how we do things. Votes are worth more than opinion polls, marches or easily scammed online petitions.

But then expecting a knowledge of democracy from an EU President, eh? An isometric exercise, lots of effort and you get nowhere.