Spanish campaign launched to prepare for February EU Constitution referendum

Television adverts on the European constitution in Spain have begun preparing the country for a referendum on the charter on February 20. They’ll be the first.

The pro-Europe Socialist government is using public money to pay for the campaign, so it has to maintain a certain neutrality. Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos appealed to all the political forces in the country of forty million to follow the same line — especially the opposition conservative Partido Popular. He said all of society should get to know as much as possible about the contents. Spanish footballers are also being recruited for this; Players in first and second division games over the next few weeks will carry banners encouraging people to vote, and copies of the new EU charter will be handed to fans as they enter stadiums.