The basic concepts of democracy as we understand them in the liberal West are under threat. This is recognised by almost all. Many, such as the straggle-haired crowd outside St Paul’s and elsewhere would say that it was under threat from the markets and others, myself included, would say that it was under threat from the institutions that pretend in all their pronouncements to be its defenders.
See what Mr Barroso the President of the European Commission said only this morning in Brussels:
“We all agreed that the promotion of democratic rights and liberties is essential in today’s world, which is characterised by an extremely difficult economic situation and rapid political, economic and societal changes. And there was, I think I can say that, a clear consensus on the fact that Europe has no reason to be complacent: yes, the promotion of rights and liberties is key in countries where democracy has just started blossoming. But it is just as important in our own democracies in Europe.”
Sounds so wonderful, but I would contend it is fake. It was RW Emerson who commented:
‘The louder he talked of his honour, the faster we counted our spoons’.
So it is with these people.
The poison of the technocratic, bureaucratic coups in Italy and Greece has yet to work they way into the political bloodstream. The fact that the first act of the new Spanish Prime Minister Mr Rahoy was to phone Angela Merkel to reassure her that he was acting in the interests of the EU and most particularly her shows the minimal influence the Spanish voters have on their national policy.
But in the case of Germany itself the great desire of the governing class has been held, at least until now, in at least some check by the German Constitutional Court based in the old city of Karlsruhe.
José Manuel Barroso
This body, which defends the German constitution also therefore defends the rights of its citizens. It recently slowed down moves to break the Lisbon Treaty by the German Government in bailing out the Greeks, and is currently having hearings in two cases in which it is defending the rights of backbench MPs in the Bundestag.
Frustrated at the way in which politicians in the German Parliament were attempting to represent their constituents, the Government has decide to create a panel of 9 MPs to debate EU related matters out of the 620 in the Parliament. Some felt that this was a constitutional and democratic outrage and took it to the Court.
Merkel’s response is to attempt to strip the Court itself of powers, Der Spiegel puts it this way,
“It appears that some among Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives are considering removing the court’s control over the political process through a normal amendment of the constitution. The legislature could simply deprive the judges of their jurisdiction in questions of European integration.”
If she succeeds in stripping the Court of its powers it will remove a Constitutional check and lead us ever closer to a form or arbitrary rule which must send a chill down the heart of any democrat.
The fact is that this financial crisis is bringing out the very worst in the political elite that govern Europe. They have Prime Ministers overthrown for daring to offer a referendum, and they will dynamite Constitutional safeguards to get their way. We are moving into very dangerous waters.
Gawain Towler
Spokesman of the EFD Group in the European Parliament
Picture by MEDEF [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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Tags: EFD Group, european union, gawain towler, News, Politics, the eu
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