The Sunday Independent's View: EU's supporters must examine why it is losing voters' trust

Irish Independent

2 days ago

Beyond a few cranks, there is no real appetite for any form of 'Irexit'. Indeed, the most recent Eurobarometer survey, which tracks public opinion across the 27 member states, found that Ireland continues to share the highest level of trust in the EU's institutions, along with Poland.
There are some clouds, nonetheless, on which political weather-watchers would do well to keep an eye, lest they rain on any future parade.
On two key markers, those being the continuing nightmare in Gaza and the trade deal the EU concluded last week with US president Donald Trump, today's Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll reveals growing angst at the direction being taken in Brussels.
About seven in 10 respondents rate the EU's performance on Israel-Gaza as either bad or very bad. More than half (58pc) also regard the EU's performance on the tariff deal as bad or very bad.
Dissatisfaction goes well beyond those two iss­ues. On question after question, Irish voters give a resounding thumbs-down in this poll to the bloc's efforts to tackle problems they are facing every day, be it the cost of living (63pc take a negative view) or immigration (68pc negative, with 0pc rating the EU's performance as 'very good').
Overall, 63pc say their opinion of the EU is either somewhat or much disimproved since the start of the conflict in Gaza, up significantly from 51pc a year ago.
These are remarkable figures in a country where there are rarely any stirrings of discontent at the EU, and fewer still since Brexit starkly demonstrated the perils of isolationism.
There is no room in the Irish political marketplace for Euroscepticism
It speaks of a lack of appreciation of the potential of conflict in Gaza to destabilise domes­tic politics in Europe. Add in the spanner that Trump has thrown into the works by strong-arming the EU into a trade deal that increasingly appears to represent a capitulation to US might, and the potential for further disruption is obvious.
There is no room in the Irish political marketplace for Euroscepticism. Most of us recognise that EU membership has served us well.
All the same, complacency must be avoided. Europe has always been able to hide its differ­ences under a comfort blanket of economic stability. The current omnishambles of crises rocking trust in the EU has only been exacer­bated since Trump came into office, as he lives up to his reputation as a Great Disruptor.
The leverage he now exerts over our economic and political discourse may be uncomfortable for anyone who values democracy over dominance.
A significant 77pc of people in our poll believe the EU should have been prepared to risk some disruption of its own by standing up to Trump more on tariffs. Doing so might even have been the making of the EU.
Those who cherish the solidity provided by European solidarity must at least use the space provided by the US trade deal, imperfect as it is, to finally confront the bloc's internal divisions. It is these, rather than any malicious actions by the White House, that could prove its undoing.
Paying humble attention to the disaffection indicated in our latest poll, rather than breathing a sigh of relief that it has not yet spilled over into more toxic forms of protest, would be a good start.