[Edito] Karlsruhe: Yes, But...
Karlsruhe: Yes, on the way for more democracy... But, in Germany... European democratisation still on ice.
The German court scraps 3 percent EU Parliament election threshold (DW - 26.02.2014).This decision can only be welcomed favorably aknowledging a clear step more forward democracy for voters... in Germany (like in France where counting blank votes has been legalized last month) but this brings nothing more to European democratisation process. Indeed, the Court relies on the argument of "parties’ rights to equal opportunities", but where is here equality of rights and opportunities for European citizens and other political parties voting or runing outside of Germany for European elections?
In the absence of real trans-European political tools and a real trans-European electoral process such initiatives only open the doors of the EP to small political parties, unable to reach the 5% or 3% threshold in regional or national elections, such as for Germany, the Freie Wähler, Pirates, ÖDP, defending regionalist, nationalist or sovereignist ideologies, such as AfD (anti-euro movement wishing to return to DM, or at least have an Euro for the Nordic countries), the Liberals (roughly on the same length), the National Democratic Party (NPD, far-rightist), or even parties for the protection of families or animals (the first one with a religious background and the second one reached a higher score with 1,1% in 2009 for Die Tierschutzpartei)... anyhow without any kind of trans-European dimension (apart from the European Federalist Party, no other party is present with the same name and the same program in different countries).
European democracy, it is not 1 +1 x 28 different democratic structures, but a single electoral process for 500 millions citizens requiring specific political instruments: one trans-European single electoral law for EP elections, trans-European political parties to represent European citizens and support trans-European political programmes beside national political parties representing the national indentities of their electorate. Without such prerequisite the violation of the rights of European citizens for equal opportunities and democratic elections is still going on (what is for those 8 million Europeans of voting age living outside the country they were born in?) and we will never come out the national political circle.
In any case, the next EP2014, in 3 months, will still be another lost game for European democrats. Once again we have not trans-European but transnational elections with national processes, parties, programmes, candidates and choices, and of course national outcomes and issues. First be afraid by the trunout: too low it will discredit once again European institutions and their legitimacy to represent 500 millions citizens accross Europe, higher, it will show the great mobilizing power of protest movements emerging at the national level, entering the EP with revendications for their people, defending the interests of their national civil society. Winners will be the "anti", anti-system, anti-European, anti-Euro, anti-austerity, anti-reform of their own society and rules... EP2014 election will be fatal to the EU system that will break up further, to Europe losing more from its greatness, and for European citizens whose voices more scattered thanks to new "national" rules without European frame will in fact bring no new scope within a split parliament. Even with a President as head of the European Commission out from the parliamentary majority, the EU is committed to democratic failure and will focus on her all releases of European civil society. We have made no progress in this first decade of the century. The EU has been declining in all its challenges, political, economic, social, public, democratic ...
The emergency exit depends now on the ability of Euroland (not the Euro zone another technocratic and bureaucratic structure) to respond very fast to the needs of citizens in social policy and democratization. Citizens have been more than patient, the election results in 2014 will wake Europe up in pain.
Marianne Ranke-Cormier
In the absence of real trans-European political tools and a real trans-European electoral process such initiatives only open the doors of the EP to small political parties, unable to reach the 5% or 3% threshold in regional or national elections, such as for Germany, the Freie Wähler, Pirates, ÖDP, defending regionalist, nationalist or sovereignist ideologies, such as AfD (anti-euro movement wishing to return to DM, or at least have an Euro for the Nordic countries), the Liberals (roughly on the same length), the National Democratic Party (NPD, far-rightist), or even parties for the protection of families or animals (the first one with a religious background and the second one reached a higher score with 1,1% in 2009 for Die Tierschutzpartei)... anyhow without any kind of trans-European dimension (apart from the European Federalist Party, no other party is present with the same name and the same program in different countries).
European democracy, it is not 1 +1 x 28 different democratic structures, but a single electoral process for 500 millions citizens requiring specific political instruments: one trans-European single electoral law for EP elections, trans-European political parties to represent European citizens and support trans-European political programmes beside national political parties representing the national indentities of their electorate. Without such prerequisite the violation of the rights of European citizens for equal opportunities and democratic elections is still going on (what is for those 8 million Europeans of voting age living outside the country they were born in?) and we will never come out the national political circle.
In any case, the next EP2014, in 3 months, will still be another lost game for European democrats. Once again we have not trans-European but transnational elections with national processes, parties, programmes, candidates and choices, and of course national outcomes and issues. First be afraid by the trunout: too low it will discredit once again European institutions and their legitimacy to represent 500 millions citizens accross Europe, higher, it will show the great mobilizing power of protest movements emerging at the national level, entering the EP with revendications for their people, defending the interests of their national civil society. Winners will be the "anti", anti-system, anti-European, anti-Euro, anti-austerity, anti-reform of their own society and rules... EP2014 election will be fatal to the EU system that will break up further, to Europe losing more from its greatness, and for European citizens whose voices more scattered thanks to new "national" rules without European frame will in fact bring no new scope within a split parliament. Even with a President as head of the European Commission out from the parliamentary majority, the EU is committed to democratic failure and will focus on her all releases of European civil society. We have made no progress in this first decade of the century. The EU has been declining in all its challenges, political, economic, social, public, democratic ...
The emergency exit depends now on the ability of Euroland (not the Euro zone another technocratic and bureaucratic structure) to respond very fast to the needs of citizens in social policy and democratization. Citizens have been more than patient, the election results in 2014 will wake Europe up in pain.
Marianne Ranke-Cormier
And now Mr Bush lets talk about Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo
