The lead up to the EU referendum has shown just how risky holding such a vote is, with impacts on political, economic and investment decisions even before the vote takes place. So would other countries want to hold referendums too?
In May, Ipsos Mori conducted a poll of 500 to 1,000 people from Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Sweden, asking for their views on whether they would want their own referendum on leaving Europe and how they would vote.
The outcome was mixed with Italians and French saying they wanted a referendum, while Poles were more pro-Europe. Overall, 45 per cent wanted their country to hold a referendum, and a third would vote to leave.
“I think the theme from this is of a divided Europe,” Bobby Duffy, Ipsos Mori’s managing director of social research, told the Epoch Times.
“It’s not that big majorities of people in other European countries are clamouring for a vote or saying that they want to vote out.”
He said it’s more that there is a significant proportion in other European countries who wanted a say – and some wanted out. The results varied across Europe.
Roughly four in ten French and Swedes would vote leave, according to the poll, and almost half of Italians would vote out.
“On the other hand, you’ve got significant proportions that actually want more European integration so it’s a real challenge for the European Union, if they have a very divided and varied population. There is no clear message,” Duffy said.
