Thanks to the web-memory we can read in The Sunday Telegraph, 29th April 2007 that Mr. Barroso gets easily astonished:

Interviewed in today’s Sunday Telegraph, the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, rejected this argument. “I am astonished that people in the UK think that ratification by Parliament is ratification by the back door,” he said. “Your Parliament is not the equivalent of a back door - it is the mother of all Parliaments. This is the country which invented Parliamentary democracy. You cut off your King’s head to establish the sovereignty of Parliament.” “To say your Parliament is the back door is to say it is not representative - and I have to say, I personally find that rather incredible.”

Almost one year after is Barroso already bold enough to take an offensive stance (Daily Telegraph - blog from Brussels):

I asked Mr Barroso if he thought it was undemocratic to deny the French people a second vote or to break promises on referendums across Europe. He replied, turning reality on its head and by describing campaigners for referendums, such as The Daily Telegraph, as enemies of democracy. “I cannot understand how someone can even suggest that a parliament is less legitimate. I cannot accept that, I think it is an undemocratic statement,” he said. “I do not agree at all that there is any diminution of legitimacy of ratification because it is done through parliamentary means.”

Euronews reports similarly:

“One can’t say that ratification by parliament is less legitimate than another way,” he said. “If we’re all democrats, if we support democratic principles, we can never say that parliamentary ratification has less legitimacy than other types of ratification. That would throw doubt on the basic principles of democratic legitimacy and the rule of law.” Barroso brushed aside suggestions by British Euro-sceptics that the treaty must be ratified by a national plebiscite rather than by parliament. He said: “The parliament is the centre of democracy.”

Weellll.

Let’s make a brief calculation. If parliaments of the 1st-round-ratification member-states would truly be representing voices of their peoples (i.e. being demo(s)cratic) then the results at their voting on Lisbon treaty surely would not be like they were:

———————————————————————-yes————no————-abstain

Hungary (325 yes, 5 no, 14 abstained) ——-94,47%——-1,45%———-4,07%
Slovenia (74 yes, 6 no) ——————————-92,50%——-7,50%———-0,00%
Malta (unanimous…) ———————————100,00%——0,00%———-0,00%
Romania (387 yes, 1 no, 1 abstained) ———99,48%——-0,25%———-0,25%
France (332 yes, 52 no) ——————————86,45%——13,54%———0,00%

Mr. Barroso, you will have to invest more effort to back up your claims. A general poll in EU member-states on ratification would do. Just put a simple question in front of the people: Would you support ratification of the renamed EU constitution?

Or even better Mr. Barroso, put that question on referendums. We are sure your logic would melt away in coming spring of 2008.