Matt Patterson/Flickr. (CC 2.0 by-nc)
Those in the Netherlands who were in favour of the EU’s draft constitutional treaty in the 2005 referendum campaign most often naively underestimated the challenge. When the treaty was rejected by a large majority, the outcome came as a cold shower to many of them.
The early signs of divisions
They should have foreseen how difficult it would be to convince even traditionally pro-European voters. In the fall of 2004, the French Parti Socialiste (PS) held an internal referendum on the EU treaty in which party members brought home a narrow victory for the yes vote with slightly over 52%. Former prime minister Laurent Fabius, who led the no-campaign, gave voice to a strong undercurrent of mistrust, anger and disillusionment. He proved able to convince and mobilise socialist voters much more easily than expected.
