I think it's a catch-22. If you run the election and the referendum at the same time, it's in the best interest of the politician to stay out. If you run the referendum separately, I think there's a very big gain there. I got it as feedback in the course of the referendum: “we expect our politicians to lead us, and they're not here to lead us”. That made it very difficult for some people, because these are the people whom they would engage for an opinion, and they trust that opinion. When you come out of a neutral position and are trying to explain things.... I found it somewhat of a challenge.
On November 26th, 2009. See this statement in context.