1. Interesting how the people who most complain about a lack of democracy in the EU are the ones mostly advocating really undemocratic solutions, ranging from the extreme left to the extreme right.
2. Barroso & Co. don’t have much real power, other than what the national heads of government allow them to have: just enough to take the blame for everything, but not enough to make a positive difference.
3. I believe that the EU and its citizens deserve high quality leadership, instead of second rate functionaries, designated for the top jobs to make sure that they don’t cast a shadow over the national bodies. Case in point, a Catherine Ashton, whose achievements at home amounted to practically nothing, until she was assigned the role of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. I am sure we can all point to the impressive list of achievements of her leadership since 2009. Same could be said about most of the other top officials, with the exception IMHO of Neelie Kroes, perhaps. If we were not so busy listening to the siren calls of the populist parties trying to destroy the EU, we could perhaps demand better leadership for the EU, which would make a real difference in our daily lives and provide a better future for the younger generations.
4. Most Brits seem uninterested in the EU and Europe – but they are not that interested in the rest of the world, either. Every time I am in the UK, I find it hard to find news about what’s going on outside the UK. Of course, with the Internet it’s not too much of a problem – but how many people in the UK actually feel the need to find out what’s going on in the world? The paradox is that an open, democratic society is not noticing that it’s shrivelling (mentally, certainly not physically) and turning inwards, mainly thanks to tabloid media peddling disinformation, with nuggets of strong political messages hidden in the heap of tabloid manure. And all of the political messages are against the EU (and the rest of the world) – and busy ignoring facts. In a normal society, this disinformation would be exposed and corrected by an open press. But it would seem that the UK press is much more interested in finding fault with everybody – from the left to the right – than in actual information. And the majority of the general public, anaesthetised by junk food, junk TV and junk press seems to be just coasting along, without a care in the world. Of course there are exceptions – but they seem to be calling in the wilderness. Mind you, other countries have even worse problems, Italy, just to mention one – but that’s material for another posting.