Getting Your Message Across

One of the immortal phrases of politics that signals the end of a dying Government or institution is: "We failed to get our message across".

With better propaganda they rather arrogantly hope they can improve the poll ratings (their message is worth more than the voters'), but in reality what it actually means is the message has got across very loud and clear - and the voters don't like what they see or hear.

This was a common theme in the dying days of Labour, for example:

1305 Geoff Hoon tells the BBC that Labour is "simply not" getting its message across and that the letter is designed to unite the party behind a leader. He says matters have to be "resolved" ahead of the election.

And Matthew Parris had a great response to this Labour disillusion here in 2008:

On Thursday the voters told Labour to - well, let us say “push off”. By their votes and abstentions they indicated that they don't like the Government any more. They said they've gone off the new Prime Minister in a big way. They didn't mention anything about being ready to change their minds and I don't for a moment believe they are disposed to.

It's over. There was nothing constructive in the voters' message. These elections were not an invitation to change. They were a big two-fingered salute, a raspberry, a pressing of the de-trousered national buttocks to the window of the polling station. The voters are bored, tired, disillusioned and out of love.

Well it seems that the EU is going down the same deluded road:

"the European institutions have learned nothing from the thundering 'Nos' in the [French and Dutch] referendums. Current theory in Brussels is that they haven't explained their work enough. Europe's citizens don't understand what it is all about, according to the European elite."

No, we have received the EU message loud and clear and we don't like it. Can we leave now please?

hattip: Open Europe.