Vildledt elite

Jeg bladrer i de danske mediers omtale og kritik af den irske folkeafstemning. Det er grusomt; ikke et sted har jeg fundet en artikel, der modent diskuterer EUs problemer med folkeafstemninger som et grundlæggende strukturelt problem (som denne artikel i NYT gør et forsøg på - hvis nogen kan finde noget lignende i dag i danske medier, kom med et link). Det er stadig den samme, gamle traver: Vælgerne er dumme, blev vildledt, er utaknemmelige, kan ikke forstå, er bange. Mange analytikere er endda så tossede at tro at dette kun drejer sig om irerne. Som om resten af Europa - måske med undtagelse af østlandene - ikke også ville stemme nej. Nosemonkey, take it away:

Note to the EU: for Christ’s sake, can we please actually THINK about the next step this time? In detail? Preferably without the assumption that the people are too stupid to notice what you’re trying to pull on them (thus alienating them yet further from a project which seems increasingly separated from the needs of the European people) - and ideally with the people in full, genuine consultation at every stage.

The continent of Europe is far, far too diverse for such idealistic “one size fits all” projects to have any place in future EU planning - unless it’s the most basic statement of shared ideals and principles, along the lines of the American declaration of independence or the US constitution. Surely that much is obvious? Just like the American colonies - only far, far more so - Europe is not made up of one united people; we are many peoples with much shared history and culture, but with plenty that also divides us in terms of hopes, dreams and aspirations. The old Constitution, the Lisbon Treaty - hell, pretty much every EU and EEC treaty ever ratified - failed sufficiently to acknowledge this, and so failed to allay concerns. The longer this went on - especially as the EU’s power and presence seemed to continue to grow without so much as a by your leave from a democratic vote - the more annoyed, the more distrustful the people of Europe were bound to become.

The European project was started by political elites as a trade association with delusions of grandeur. It is now much, much more than that, with competence creep after competence creep. It is too unwieldy and unaccountable for the people of a continent with more than its fair experience of despotism and dictatorship not to start taking offence if it continues down the route of “what we say goes, and there’s not much you can do about it”.

Men hvad diskuterer Danmarks politiske elite netop? Hvordan man får skubbet traktaten igennem. Om man kan hægte Irland af. Hvordan man "kommer videre". Og så fremdeles.

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Kan I for i øvrigt huske Pia Christmas-Møllers udmelding om traktaten?

Danskerne skal til folkeafstemning om den kommende EU-traktat.

Sådan lyder den opsigtsvækkende melding fra politisk ordfører hos de Konservative, Pia Christmas-Møller. Hun bakkes op af SF, der i dag i Folketinget præsenterer et beslutningsforslag om en folkeafstemning.

»Det er sådan i Danmark, at vi kun kan få en debat om EU, når vi holder folkeafstemninger. Det er ærgerligt, og alle giver hinanden håndslag på, at vi skal diskutere EU – men det sker jo aldrig. Det er et demokratisk problem, og demokratiet er først på gal kurs, når politikere begynder at blive bange for vælgerne,« siger Pia Christmas-Møller forud for weekendens konservative landsråd.

Nu er hun løsgænger.