Υπερβολική φορολόγηση, υπερβολική ρύθμιση, υπερβολική παρακολούθηση: Yπο-εκπροσώπηση.

Ο διευθυντής της εφημερίδας New Europe Αλέξανδρος Κορωνάκης αποζητά ένα πιο αληθινά αντιπροσωπευτικό και δημοκρατικό ευρωπαϊκό μοντέλο.

EUROPE: Democracy is neither an American monopoly for export, nor a British privilege. It is an Athenian invention and is well described by Pericles in 430 BC, in his epitaph speech delivered at the Keramikos cemetery in honor of the first dead in the Peloponnesian war.

The original concept of democracy was based on the direct vote of all eligible (adult males) Athenian citizens who gathered at Pnyka, a hill next to the Acropolis of Athens and voted for each and every issue of common concern.

If Europe were a direct democracy of the aforementioned type (which is not impossible to structure in the age of e-government), citizens would not be over-taxed, over-regulated or over-watched. Indeed it is these three ‘overs’ that have gradually frustrated our societies, developing a potential danger for incidents of unpredictable and uncontrolled social unrest.

Indeed, in a Europe of direct democracy, the administrations at national and EU level, would be reduced in size, and in the direct service of the citizens. 

Furthermore, government/state services would be tailored to the real needs of societies and citizens, and operate effectively and efficiently. Citizens able to vote directly, would be voting for their interests and not for the interests of the financial speculators supporting their elected representatives. 

This, however, practically cannot be currently done (except perhaps for the Swiss model).

If the mainstream parties leading and ruling Europe don’t start to clean up their houses, the current trends could evolve into an entirely new beast.

The distance between a capital-D-Democracy and a pseudo democratic parliamentary dictatorship is not great.

We have come to live in a world where representative democracy means representation of stakeholders yielding the biggest influence. 

This is not how representative democracy was imagined.  Indeed political leaders are meant to represent their citizens, not their sponsors or even friends. However, it is incredible, how incredulous any modern attempts at fighting against corruption, coercion, or capital persuasion is. Indeed the fresh “breeze of democracy” blows from the extremes of Left and Right.

While the extremes may be on the rise in the last few years, their populist rhetoric has so far proven to consist of nothing more than words.

Naturally, while on a European level parties advocating the rights of the people from between the centre-left to centre-right on the political spectrum, would most of the time vote along the lines of the EPP or PES, ALDE or even ECR, any new breed of EU political party/ies should remain out of the established clientelistic system that currently reigns. 

Where we ask, can we find a mainstream party to fight for the rights of the mainstream?

Because if the mainstream parties leading and ruling Europe don’t start to clean up their houses, the current trends could evolve into an entirely new beast. 

Be prepared to either be consumed by the political extremes, or, preferably, be cast aside by new, transparent, entities that embody the values of direct democracy.

Πηγή: NEWEUROPE.BE