Most polls taken the eve of the Dutch referendum on the European constitution pointed clearly towards its rejection. None, however, predicted the magnitude of the landslide defeat which would be delivered to Dutch supporters of the document on Wednesday night: 61.4 percent of people who voted, said no, not wanting to hold their noses to something which they think stinks.

The consensus among German papers on Thursday is that European leaders, including French President Jacques Chirac whose citizens opposed the constitution on Sunday, are getting a rude wake-up call with the referenda. Most agree that in order to survive this existential crisis, Brussels must be prepared to rethink the definition of the European Union and to make major compromises -- possibly even returning decision-making power in many areas back to its member states. The EU, they believe, has become too undemocratic and too far removed from its citizens.

The fact that virtually all major European political parties gave the constitution their full backing, and opponents were pushed into the political margins, made the broad defeat of the referenda in France and Holland even more "astounding," writes Tagesschau.de, the Web site for Germany's leading news program. For a long time now, doubts have been growing about an increasingly unified Europe. The constitution served as a lightning rod, not only for domestic political frustration, but also for displeasure over the new, bigger Europe. What other opportunity do voters have to express that uncertainty, Tagesschau asks?

"There's a democratic deficit in the EU. Far-reaching decisions are being made and more national competencies are being transferred without the participation of citizens," the website says. Controversial issues like possible future membership of Turkey in the EU were deliberately left out of the last European elections, "as if they couldn't be trusted to the voters." Why then, should it come as any surprise that people, whose input is only solicited as an exception, would use the constitutional referendum as a chance to lash out over EU policies they distrust? Leaders across Europe are now "perplexed" and many are saying second round voting should happen later in Holland, France and wherever else the constitution is rejected. But that won't solve the bigger problem: "You can vote as many times as you want until you get the desired result. But that won't strengthen people's trust in European politics."

It may be tempting to put the outcome in The Hague down to unfortunate recent events in Holland. With the religiously motivated murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic extremist, reports are rampant of the death of multiculturalism and an increasing desire for isolation. But that's not why Brussels has been snubbed. "The Dutch are still a tolerant, Europhile people," writes the center-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung. But, as in France, here it is a bread-and-butter issue: people believe their standard of living is in danger. "Joblessness is rising, the economy is stagnating, the euro has made many things more expensive," the editorial continues. "This has created a breeding ground for all of those on both the Right and Left who fear being overrun by foreign influences and the creation of a European super state." The paper goes on to say that Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende must do everything in his power to restore trust in Europe. This will be difficult, for since the French referendum, no one knows where to go from here. And to convince people, you certainly need to have a clear plan.

The Financial Times Deutschland disagrees with the Sueddeutsche's view that the recent critique of multiculturalism in Holland played no role in its rejection of the treaty. "Many people are worried that their country will lose influence and be downgraded to the role of a province with the expansion of the EU," the editorialist writes. "The shattering of the illusion of a multicultural society has also led (the Dutch) to question how open Holland should be to the outside." Who in Brussels, the paper asks, would have thought a populist slogan stating "The Netherlands must remain independent" would find so much fertile ground in a country that has been traditionally EU-friendly? Europe, it concludes, "is in trouble."

Then again, this could just be a euros and cents question. Between the euro and Holland's EU net-payer status (meaning it transfers more to Brussels than it gets back), many Dutch are frustrated that they are footing a bigger bill per head for European unity than any other member state. "In contrast to the French," the left-leaning Berliner Zeitung opines, "the Dutch don't see the EU as being too market friendly, but rather as resistant to reforms." At a time when The Hague is consolidating its budget and making painful cuts, resentment over the EU budget is growing. "To an even greater extent than Germany, the Dutch are the paymasters of Europe, and it's a role they're fed up with," it adds. The broad spectrum of voters' protest in the two referenda shows the test Europe is facing: "The EU must come up with more convincing answers as to why and how it is best suited to serve the people. Ideas such as shifting competences back to the national level must not be taboo."