“A week is a long time in politics” – so said a long-passed English Prime Minster. A weekend is even shorter as I will explain. Faced with Eurozone chaos and financial melt-down in two of the countries, a small group (8 in all) met to determine the “fate” of those two countries and indeed their own. For the moment, they have bought themselves time – but not a lot. What they have achieved is, in my opinion, one of the severest blows to democracy that I have seen in all my almost 70 years. Three of the eight were democratically elected by the people; the other five have gained their position and “power” not through the ballot box but by the agreement of their (again, unelected) peers.
In the space of a little over 48 hours, these eight “heavyweights” started the process of re-drawing the Eurozone and perhaps Europe itself. During that time the Greek Prime Minister was “encouraged” to resign and at the same meeting the process began to dislodge the Italian Prime Minister also. By the end of the week, fait accompli as both had been ousted and successors “organised”. Now we can see the rise of the “technocrats”. OK I can accept that we are not living in normal times and there are occasions when a strong hand is required to overcome problems. BUT all this has been achieved without any pretence of democracy.
And just a few days ago we saw a concerted ‘push’ led by two of the ‘stronger’ economic leaders to re-fashion Europe into something they say will prevent such disasters happening in the future. Only time will tell whether they have been successful, but personally I feel they have tried, and succeeded, in creating a monster. It is a monster comprised of unelected bureaucrats responsible for ensuring that each member state suffers. They will suffer through a considerable loss of sovereignty, be placed in a financial prison and be allowed to suffer until they have “seen the error of their ways” and become good Europeans (whatever that means). Amazingly, the concept also puts in place financial penalties for those who do not comply; thus if a country has serious debt problems and cannot meet the criteria it will be fined – but without the money to pay the fine it just becomes mired in deeper debt.
For all those 26 countries who signed up, I can now see that their economic performance and the choices that are put in place will no longer be in the hands of the people of those countries but will be written in advance in Brussels , Bonn , Paris and Frankfurt . And agreed with by the IMF (obviously, as the head is French). And all this is done in the name of “caring for the people”; to me it just doesn’t make sense. Many say that the UK
Until next time (and with a free voice),
Peripatetic Scribe
Very thought-provoking P.S. I also wonder what will happen in the EZ and to UK. What bothered me most about all the pronouncements was that there was NO mention of growth, new jobs or anything that pushes the zone into the future. That is surely a recipe for disaster sown the road.
ReplyDeleteAs a new reader living in England I saw the headline you wrote and decided that I should reply. What I see happening in the EZ shows that the collective leadership have finally buried democracy - no single person anywhere in the 26 nations has had any say in what has been agreed. The opinion locally is that Mr. Cameron did a good job and if we are isolated, it will not be for the first time and we can live through it. Times may become even more difficult but we will not have the deadweight of European bureaucracy hanging on our necks. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi, Anonymous in NZ - I think you have made a very valid point. Without any attempt to plan for growth in the future and by creating what the Americans call "concrete shoes" of even more regulations any attempt to grow is doomed to failure in my opinion. You cannot hope to grow under a suffocating load of bureaucracy and lack of sovereignty. Thanks for your comment
ReplyDeleteHi, Anonymous in UK and welcome. In many ways I think the isolation of UK was deliberate - maybe Mrs. Merkel has some valid points, but Mr. Sarkozy was the "deus ex machina" and did what she wanted. Yes you will be alone, but as you say you will not have a deadweight bureaucracy on your backs. NOW will be the time to explore new opportunities in many different parts of the world. Hope you enjoy more pieces in the future. P.S.
ReplyDeleteI believe you are right, P.S.! In my opinion it's all about confidence and optimism on the national level. Most countries have forgotten all about it and have been scared into believing they are helpless and need to do what the "stronger and more powerful" ones tell them. Hence, the monster has good servants. Focusing on the negative (austerity, crisis etc.) can only attract negative outcomes. Even such a simple book as The secret by Rhonda Bryne has the recipe for success. Nevertheless, I believe we must all sink deeper in order to finally wake up. That's the price to pay for choosing the "easier" way out.
ReplyDeleteLucana
Lucana - thank you. My view is that the "opinion-makers" are myopic in their thinking. More consideration of the "good/better" aspects of (any) national life can work in a positive way. However, it is only bad news that sells!
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