talian {andate is idite), while shared etynologiesrnensure that occhi (eyes) doesrnrot look all that different from ochi in a lil^rnretto. Thus I challenge any Henry Higginsesrnout there to guess that a Russianrnsinger stinks to high heaven on the basisrnof his elocution alone. Because, as herernat midnight, when Amelia goes to gatherrnher magic herbs in the graveyard, elocutionrnis the music:rnMezzanotte!… ah! che veggio?rnUna testarnDi sotterra si leva .. .e sospira!rnHa negli occhi il baleno dell’irarnE m’fftsa e terrihile stalrnOnce I had arrived at the restaurantrnwhere the Mariinsky braves were carousing,rnhowever, all was reealed. Amid therndiscordant cries of “come si chiama, rehyata,rnqiiesta cosa?” and “perfarore, devushka,rnper favorel” some 30 of my compatriotsrnwere busy commingling vodka withrngrappa, and I stayed w ith them until sixrnin the morning. No, none of them hadrnan’ knowledge of the language beyondrnthat of a prisoner in an internment camp,rnand when I finally managed to ask thernlead baritone’s wife, herself a respectedrnsoloist with the Bolshoi, how on earthrnthe’ managed to sing in Italian, the sweetrnwoman replied that, since time immemorial,rnRussian singers learned the words ofrnthe libretti by rote, oifen after first writingrnthem out in Cyrillic characters.rnBv time immemorial, she meant thernvear’1917.rnAndrei Narrozov is Chronicles’rnEuropean correspondent.rnLetter FromrnDenmarkrnbv Alberto CarosarnRaining on the E.U. ParadernThe Danish vote against the euro last fallrnwas a serious setback for the plans ofrnBrussels eurocrats. The Danish “no” revealsrnthe growing rift between the eurofanaticismrnof the globalist establishmentrnand the realit)’ of public opinion.rnOn September 28, 2000, 53.5 percentrnof Denmark’s electorate rejected the euro.rnTlie result is even more significant since allrnmajor goverirment and opposition parties,rnthe media, businesses, and unions werernurging a “yes” vote. The general reactionrnin the Danish press was that the votersrnhad shot themselves in the foot, losingrntheir right to any say in E.U. affairs.rnUnlike the outcome of the 1992 referendumrnon ratification of the MaastrichtrnTreaty, the rejection of the euro wasrnwidely expected, which was why top E.U.rnofficials had minimized the importancernof the vote before it was even tallied.rnSuch eurofanatics as French socialistrnLaurent Fabius, E.U. finance ministerrnand current chairman of the eurogroup,rnsimply told the Financial Times that “therneuro is doing well and will continue to dornso.” The fact that the currency has lost 2 5rnpercent of its value since its inception isrnapparently immaterial to him.rnDespite protestations to the contraryrnfrom Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blairrnand his Swedish colleague Goran Persson,rnthe f^anish vote will likely affect thernresults of similar referenda in those tworn”euroskeptic” countries, hi the aftermathrnof the Danish referendum, the FinancialrnTimes (October 3, 2000) reported thatrnmany Swedes oppose the eiuo for thernsame reasons that the Danes do, namely,rna belief that their economv is doing perfectlyrnwell without the common currency,rnsuspicions about further political integration,rnand anxietv’ about the impact ofrnthe euro on generous welfare programs.rnEven more significant are the potentialrnconsecjuences for political integrationrnand eastward expansion of thernEiuropean Union. The real winner thatrnemerged from the referendum was thernpopulist Danish People’s Part}’, led bv PiarnKjaersgaard. Often described as a “DanishrnHaider in woman’s clothes,” Kjaersgaardrnhas made it clear that her goal is to inrpedernthe political unification of Europe.rnThe People’s Party was established fivernyears ago in the midst of increasing anti-rnE.U. sentiment; according to the InternationalrnHerald Tribune (September 28,rn2000), it has gained votes by arguing thatrnintegration into the European Union willrnlead to more immigration. Since almostrnhalf of the crimes in Denmark are committedrnb)’ immigrants, it is not surprisingrnthat recent opinion polls show the People’srnParty at 15 percent, making it arnserious contender for power in the nextrnelection. But Pia Kjaersgaard refuses tornexploit the result of the referendum.rnclaiming that the defeat of the euro was arnvictory not only for her party but for “thernwhole of Denmark.”rnIn fact, the “no” vote represented therntriumph of grassroots democracy overrnboth local politicians and the unelectedrnand unaccountable political machine inrnBrussels and Strasbourg. The Danes realizedrnthat the referendum concernedrnnot only monetary issues but the questionrnof Danish national identity. The deeprootedrnfeelings of the average Dane werernepitomized in such statements as “Economicrnissues are not all in life. There arernother values. I will vote no because I dornnot want to lose m}’ identit)-. I am andrnwant to remain a Dane” (11 Giornale,rnSeptember 28, 2000) and “We have arngreat problem with Moslems. They arernnot coming here to become DanishrnChristians, but to Islamic[ize] Denmark”rn(Ea Repuhblica, September 30, 2000).rnThis opinion is shared by Peter Skaarup,rnthe ideologue of the Danish People’s Part’.rnMuslims in Denmark, he argues, arernattempting to impose their wav of life:rn”For example, they regard women as inferior,rnexpect Moslem girls to wear thernchador and harass our girls up to thernpoint of raping them” (11 Giornale, Septemberrn30, 2000).rnAnother factor that affected the outcomernof the referendum was the wayrnthe European Union has treated Austriarnwith respect to Jorg Haider, which hasrnstrengthened Danish fears that minorrnnations such as Austria and Denmarkrnwould be overpowered by E.U. heavyweights.rnIndeed, Italian Foreign MinisterrnLamberto Dini has argued that, inrnE.U. decisionmaking, majority rulern”must be used in general, while the needrnfor unanimit}’ must be the exception.” Itrn”has been accepted by all,” he declared,rnthat the votes of larger states will carryrnmore weight. But who, exactly, is “all”?rnCertainly not the Danes and probablyrnnot other small E.U. nations.rnThe truth of the matter is that “thernwhole drive toward European unionrnlacks democratic legitimacy.” This is notrnthe opinion of a fanatical europhobe, butrnof the International Herald Tribune (Octoberrn4, 2000), whose political correctnessrnis beyond dispute. Although thernDanish population has had regular opportunitiesrnto express its opinion on thernEuropean Union (the September voternwas the sixth poll), most European votersrnhave never been consulted by their governmentsrn(Italy, for example, has neverrnheld a vote).rnMAY 2001/37rnrnrn