I'd like to think that was true Doug, but I'm not too sure. I've a nasty suspicion that it might have more to do with the decision-making process in most European countries being less responsive to populist preferences.

Which is why I started this thread, because the Irish referendum is the first evidence that that nasty suspicion may not actually be justified. Maybe we've moved to a stage where opposition to judicial killing is becoming normative.

Whether a similar referendum would get the same result in other countries is still questionable. It was probably significant in this case that the Catholic Church in Ireland was urging people to vote against capital punishment,in keeping with a general pro-life commitment.