European Elections 09
Out of context: Reply #7
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- raf0
Look at your country's MEPs now. I bet in most cases they are people their party colleagues wanted to get rid of or people who needed political holidays. That's because EP is irrelevant. It has no real power. It is good money though.
The reason for that is the EU, as a legal entity does not exist yet. The Maastricht Treaty put it on the drawing board, but it's still not err.. fully (or legally) operational.
Just like that one battle station wasn't (or everyone thought so). The legal entity in place is still European Community (and some other ones). So the MEPs go there for the nice pay (plus fat pension), for the euro-image and to let their local electorate forget their flops.However, when the Irish are forced the Lisbon Treaty referendum down their throats, things will change. The EP will have real power since then. That's why they treat these elections more seriously than the former ones. And they will force the referendum down Irish throats very soon. Rinse and repeat until they say yes.
Lisbon Treaty will come to life then. Everyone thinks it changes voting rules and ratios to streamline things. It does in a way. Hardly anyone realizes, it actually establishes the European Union. As a state. All the little countries that have veto power now will become irrelevant. It will be hard to get your point across in the sea of MEPs, if not impossible.
This is probably why the liberal guy I am (liberal as in libertarian, not US liberal), I say, vote nationalist. Vote for the people who might still care about your country.
I'm not much of a nationalist myself, I'm actually an expat because I didn't like living in my home country. I'm not even voting in either of the two countries, because on the election day I'll be bathing in the sun on a Barcelona beach (that's why I won't be able to contribute to this thread more regularly). But I realize that a well functioning system is one that is decentralized in many respects, like Switzerland. Not centrally organized, like EU is set to be. And I realize that MEPs are a detached class of their own, who will be more loyal to their EP salaries and pensions than their electorate.
That's why it's worth voting for people who are mental enough not to get corrupt there I guess.Apologies for the rushed and chaotic post, I'm off to the airport.
¡Hasta la vista!
- Good points. I agree with some of them but disagree with lots of them.Autokern