The low turnout in the Spanish referendum on the European Union's new constitution is a disappointment for those who hoped the opportunity would be seized to shrink the democratic deficit in Europe.

Spain has been one of the great beneficiaries of the EU over the past two decades and it would have been an act of extreme ingratitude if it had rejected the new constitution in Sunday's referendum. Indeed, with both main national parties endorsing the constitution, the positive outcome was a foregone conclusion. But with the turnout below 45 per cent, this was an unenthusiastic response for a country that has taken its electoral responsibilities so seriously since the advent of democracy in 1977.