A DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT IN EUROPE

The Czech President Vaclav Klaus has come up with a very descriptive term for the tremendous - and increasing - power of the unelected Eurocrat elite in Brussels and the ever-diminishing power of the citizens of European countries. In a March 22, 2009 interview with The Sunday Times, he called it the democratic deficit. Naturally enough, he has frequently come under vicious attack by the Eurocrats for his independent, critical and pro-democracy stance, the latest a few days ago by the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, who accused Klaus of "demolishing Europe."

Klaus's response was very simple. First, he pointed out that Kouchner's accusation has nothing to do with what he, Klaus, had said. Then he added pointedly:

If people like Mr. Kouchner view my opinions as a demolition of Europe, then I can only say that they themselves set the stage for that demolition by demolishing a democratic discussion.

Another interesting observation from the same article:

I also stressed that in the...radio talk which, by the way, had received almost no publicity. In contrast, the media had trumpeted Mr. Kouchner’s statement far and wide.

It seems that both Europe and the United States now face the same problem: an administration that is hell-bent on centralizing power in the hands of the unelected few and major media outlets that are in the securely pockets of the centralizers.

Maybe that is why the current European Parliament elections aren't going so well for the Eurocrats: the so-called center-right is gaining strength in the European Parliament at the expense of the so-called left, and leftist parties in many member nations are in crisis.

Maybe that's also why the Obamite administration is losing popularity so precipitously.

There is always trouble when people begin to wake up to the fact that the honeyed words they are being fed are mainly b.s.