The American Spectator : Eurocrats' Comeuppance

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Eurocrats' Comeuppance

By Doug Bandow on 6.9.09 @ 6:07AM

Europe has voted. More accurately, the people of Europe have voted.

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Still, outgoing EP president Hans-Gert Pottering observed: "I am very pleased to see that the pro-European parties…have achieved a good, solid majority." That's true in a sense -- Euroskeptics received only modest backing. The number of Euroskeptics in the 736-member body likely will not exceed 20.

The UKIP, which advocates a withdrawal from the EU, won 13 seats. The BNP takes the same position. But Declan Ganley of Libertas, which led the campaign against the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland, narrowly failed to win a seat in Ireland. Continent-wide Libertas picked up only one seat, and that by a current member who merged his small party with Libertas -- losing his party's other two seats in the process.

However, Britain's Conservative Party is leaving the EP conservative coalition and forming a group dedicated to federalism. Fear of losing votes to UKIP in the next general election may push the Conservatives in a more Euroskeptic direction.

Moreover, the electorate demonstrated little enthusiasm for the EP as an institution. Critics of the continuing consolidation of power in Brussels seem more inclined not to vote than to bother looking for like-minded candidates to support.

Even more important, the Irish message on Lisbon also was conflicted. Polls continue to show a majority in favor of the treaty, which is expected to go back to the voters this fall. But that largely reflects hope in Europe as an economic safety net. If the EU does not live up to that promise in coming months, popular attitudes might change. And Taoiseach, or Prime Minister, Brian Cowen's government was battered by voters. His support for Lisbon might not prove particularly helpful next time.

All told, Europeans have voted, but not for Europe. Rather than treating the European Parliament as a serious institution concerned with serious issues, angry and frustrated people have used it is as a target for protest. Eurocratic elites will continue to push their project to consolidate power in Brussels, but they will do so with little support from the people in whose name they are acting. Bruno Waterfield of the Daily Telegraph says simply: "This is an EU election result that Europe's elites richly deserve."

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About the Author

Doug Bandow is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and the Senior Fellow in International Religious Persecution at the Institute on Religion and Public Policy. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is author of Beyond Good Intentions: A Biblical View of Politics (Crossway).

Letter to the Editor View all comments (22) | Leave a comment

Appleby| 6.9.09 @ 6:40AM

Here in Kanukistan the trend is the same -- fewer people voting in every election -- because in a socialist economy the only people who get ahead, besides the apparatchiks, are the beggars. We have turned Canada into Queen For A Day, where he or she who can tell the most pitiful story is rewarded with a ladle full of cash from the pockets of unwilling contributors. Our unemployment rate is the highest in 15 years, and this month the socialist party (the NDP) is ladling out huge sums of money to an arts festival. We also have another huge financial scandal in the liberal government including a woman who made a six figure salary last year (plus a six figure bonus) and put in an expense account for a cup of tea and a scone.

And the proletariat toiling to uphold this tottering fiefdom know that there is not a darned thing they can do about it. *What can you dooooooooo?* is the popular whine.

Nobody pays any attention toKanukistan; but if the Europeans begin to express this attitude, perhaps things will begin to change.

Stuart Koehl| 6.9.09 @ 7:08AM

Doug,

A smart guy like you should know the difference between disinterested and uninterested. The former means objective, the latter means indifferent. Just because you're a libertarian doesn't give you the right to take liberties with the English language.

Kenneth Allen| 6.9.09 @ 9:35AM

Mr. Bandow: I think you have missed an important point. The British Conservative Party EP members are leaving the EP conservative coalition because this coalition is committed to a federal Europe. They plan to associate with a different coalition (grouping) that reflects their anti-federalist position.

MEP NAZI ELECTED| 6.9.09 @ 12:40PM

White working-class families feel so neglected by the Government and angered by immigration that they are deserting Labour and flocking to the British National Party, a minister admitted yesterday.

In a sensational claim, Margaret Hodge, one of Tony Blair's closest allies, said that eight out of 10 white people in her east London constituency of Barking are threatening to vote for the far-Right party in next month's local elections. Once traditional Labour supporters are angry at a lack of affordable housing - and blame immigration, and Labour, for the changes.

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"They can't get a home for their children, they see black and ethnic minority communities moving in and they are angry," said Mrs Hodge, the employment minister. "When I knock on doors I say to people, 'are you tempted to vote BNP?' and many, many, many - eight out of 10 of the white families - say 'yes'. That's something we have never seen before, in all my years. Even when people voted BNP, they used to be ashamed to vote BNP. Now they are not." Mrs Hodge said the pace of ethnic change in her area had frightened people. "What has happened in Barking and Dagenham is the most rapid transformation of a community we have ever witnessed.

The world is changing, Globalization, not in ordinary peoples interest. Multi-National Industrial Companies are the only benifitors.

The late 70's saw the sale of all assets going to major Multi-National Companies, jobs moved to China for higher profits.

As a result today Europe has high Un-Employment, America has high Un-Employment and growing. Domestic GDP is crashing in the Western world as the levels of Un-Employment continues to grow.

Much the same as it did during the 1920's in Germany. It eventually lead to the Nazis gaining power.

I can't stress enough how important for people to read History. Because what we are seeing now is the repeat of Nazi Germany, but the most alarming thing is it's across the whole of the Developed world.

Fascism is on the Rise across the Western world, it started with Bush WAR on TERROR, but what people failed to notice is that The Bush Family made it's money on promoting Fascism. Bush War on Terror was to create the high Oil prices to destroy the American economy, and make money with his Saudi Royal Family, and to hell with ordinary American people.

Tony Blair made his pile, and recked his economy.
And like America people can see the casualties, in the level of Un-Employment, and all those who were with Bush in his speech, is you are not with me you are against me. They are now reaping the breakdown of society, and economic destruction.

Stuart Koehl| 6.9.09 @ 3:37PM

"Tony Blair made his pile, and recked his economy."

First egregious grammatical errors, now jeremiads from the functionally illiterate. It has been a good day.

Daisy| 6.9.09 @ 6:23PM

Mr. Koehl, your first post made me laugh--I caught Bandow's error, too. It's important to protect the integrity of our English language. Of course, you already know that--you used to write for AmSpec, right?

Stuart Koehl| 6.9.09 @ 6:51PM

"Of course, you already know that--you used to write for AmSpec, right?"

Many moons ago, when I was but a young punk, and AmSpec was a tabloid with a chip on its shoulder.

Daisy| 6.9.09 @ 8:55PM

I liked them when they had a chip on their shoulder.

You're funny.

Dave Lincoln| 6.9.09 @ 11:00PM

Here's more grammar instruction for you, Doug (just piling on; it's what I do ;-) This is not a sentence, OK: "Resulting in ever less democratic politics in practice. " Where it the subject? Is none. (see, same there). I see a lot of this, BTW, in the Spectator, in particular. Resulting in a loss of respect by yours truly.

Interesting article nontheless (see I can do this as well as the next guy). Also, I voice my support for the BNP. A bit more xenophobia would help Europe remain European. Unfortunately, most of them are weenies, just like bloggers in America who feel that have to add the word xenophobia to describe people who want to keep their land. Hmmmm.

Dave Lincoln| 6.9.09 @ 11:06PM

Daisy| 6.9.09 @ 11:37PM

Geez, Mr. Lincoln; I was hanging on your every word and then you had to screw it up by double posting it. I hate it when I do that. :)

I like your attitude toward illegal immigration, though.

Dave Lincoln| 6.9.09 @ 11:47PM

Thank you, Daisy. This time, the website did not show my post with a "waiting for moderation" indication. So, I waited for about 10 minutes, and since it was not on the website, I mashed "submit" again.

Something I learned from our Great Teacher:

"Bad grammar makes the baby Obama cry."

Roy| 6.10.09 @ 3:52PM

Re:Lincoln: You are right, that is not a sentence, but if you read aloud you know the kind of verbal construction that Mr. Bandow was trying to represent.

Less formal articles seem to aim to be "sounded out", and I am not sure how to create this construct using the printed word. It's where you say something is bad, and after the listener absorbs how bad it is you continue your prior sentence. A comma doesn't quite convey it. Neither does an ellipsis. Interesting..

Dave Lincoln| 6.10.09 @ 4:36PM

Joy, I've got a pair already. They suck., OK? Leave us alone....

Anyway, Roy, I know that people talk this way, but I don't think that this is supposed to be an informal article or editorial. Now, in an internet chat conversation (i.e. yahoo messenger), text message, and even comments here in the feedback section I could see that type of grammatical short cut. Take a comment by one Dave Matthews, for example, please!! haha, scared ya.

Anyway, I personally think most of these writers think there is nothing grammatically wrong with that non-sentence construction. Nothing wrong at all (see, it's catching ;-) Maybe Doug was sick that day they went over subject/verb etc. in English class. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks for your comment. I know what you're saying.

Oh, BTW, I can't say for sure who started this type of thing, but I remember on the Rachel Lucas website, Rachel would write with a period after each word to really emphasize something:

Like, THAT. IS. WRONG. (That didn't really work out, but you get the idea.)

Alan Healy| 6.10.09 @ 4:51PM

I'm not too sure where you got the idea that the European Union was not an election issue .
As you point out UKIP came second in the UK . Their major policy is to remove Britain from the EU .
Can't get much more involved in EU issues than that .
Also , the fact that their vote was virtually identical to the last election seems to show that it was not merely a protest against the domestic political establishment .

jr| 6.10.09 @ 6:06PM

From the article (excellent one): "Graham Watson.. parliamentary Alliance of Liberal and Democrats for Europe..: "I don't know why and we need to study why people don't go out and vote." After 2,000 or more years, and obviously one of the smartest people in Europe, and needs another study to find why people do not like people like him. Zounds and Holy Dumb Batman!

Michael Follon| 6.19.09 @ 4:57PM

There is no doubt that the low turnout at the European elections is a matter of concern. The article gives a brief overview of the outcome, particularly in the United Kingdom (UK) with its mention of the far right BNP. A closer examination of the result in the UK would reveal interesting variances. In Scotland and Wales they would show that the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru respectively campaigned only in those countries of the UK whereas the BNP campaigned throughout it with the exception of Northern Ireland. The share of the vote received is very illuminating -

UNITED KINGDOM

SNP - 2.04%
BNP - 6.00%
PC - 0.81%

ENGLAND

SNP - 0.00%
BNP - 6.54%
PC - 0.00%

SCOTLAND

SNP - 29.06%
BNP - 2.46%
PC - 0.00%

WALES

SNP - 0.00%
BNP - 5.42%
PC - 18.51%

The SNP won 2 seats and PC won 1 seat. What both of these Nationalist parties stand for is the very opposite of the BNP.