That's the question posed by the Irish Times, after the defeat of the LIsbon Treaty in a referendum late this week. It's a big blow to the Irish government, which endorsed it, and to the European Union. It's not at all clear what comes next for the EU. Voters have no rejected a constitution and, in the only one of the 27 countries to permit voters to cast ballots, a treaty to replace the new, failed constitution.

Ironically, the defeat of the Irish referendum will  -- at the same time -- limit and boost direct democracy in Europe. The treaty would have provided for the first transnational referenda -- that is, a plebiscite across all the EU countries. Those hopes seem dashed now. But with the Irish rejecting the treaty, Euroskeptics across the continent now have a strong argument for demanding referenda on the treaty in their own countries. The pressure on the UK's politically lead-footed prime minster, Gordon Brown, to permit a vote is likely to grow.