Thursday 13 September 2012

Barroso´s "European democracy"




EU Commission president José Manuel Barroso again yesterday showed why he is an extremely dangerous man. In his megalomaniac "State of the Union" speech, the former maoist once again confirmed his deeply held admiration for empires (disguised in his speech as "federation of nation states") and his disdain for parliamentary democracy: 

Yes, globalisation demands more European unity. More unity demands more integration. More integration demands more democracy, European democracy. In Europe, this means first and foremost accepting that we are all in the same boat. It means recognising the commonality of our European interests.
It means embracing the interdependence of our destinies. And it means demanding a true sense of common responsibility and solidarity. Because when you are on a boat in the middle of the storm, absolute loyalty is the minimum you demand from your fellow crew members.
The key words here are "European democracy". During his maoist years Barroso must have been an admirer of the "peoples´ democracies" in countries like China and the Soviet Union. His talk about "European democracy" is nothing but a new version of this, apparently deeply held admiration for authoritarian regimes. In communist China and Stalin´s Soviet Union "absolute loyalty" to the "great leaders" was the key to success. That is also the essence of Barroso´s "European democracy". 



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