Danish pro-euro camp is scared to say 'yes'
By Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor - The Independent, 14 August 2000

The "yes" campaign for next month's euro referendum in Denmark has decided not to use the word "yes" in advertisements – because it is worried it will scare off the voters.

In a move that has delighted British Eurosceptics, the Danish European Movement has concluded that using the Y-word would be counterproductive ahead of the crucial poll.

According to an internal memo, the pro-euro group has conceded that there are few credible arguments for joining the single currency that can convince a sceptical public.

Instead, the campaign will have a brand-new slogan that is not No, not Yes, but more of a Third Way: "If you are in doubt – ask".

The Danish referendum on the euro is seen by many British politicians as a foretaste of the battles involved in any similar poll in the United Kingdom.

The "If you are in doubt – ask" slogan will be unveiled in Copenhagen this week and then rolled out to smaller towns as the movement offers reassurance to a sceptical public.

Anders Panum Jensen, National Secretary of the Danish European Movement, explained that the group wanted to prove it took voters' nervousness about closer EU integration seriously.

"I can well understand that people have doubts, even though I am a supporter. Among our members, there are also people who think that the euro has not been set up in the optimum way – but nothing is perfect," he said.

Francis Maude, the shadow Foreign Secretary, was scathing about the Danish pro-euro slogan. "The reason why they are finding the euro such a hard sell is easy, " he said. "It is very difficult to make a case for joining. Tony Blair and Robin Cook, please note."

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