Monti – Merkel Spat And Democracy in Europe?

Inadvertently Mario Monti has hit the nail on the head in his Der Spiegel interview. What he said, about European leaders needing to free themselves from their Parliaments, and the German outraged response, that we need more Democracy rather than less have, at last, pin pointed the crux of the matter when it comes to the EU’s utter dysfunction!

And first we have to define the meaning of Democracy. In this debate I would be one hundred percent on the German side, only we don’t seem to have the same concept of what Democracy means. In the current Monti – Merkel spat, all sides of the German political spectrum have joined to defend their democratic decision making process and they are right to do so. One hundred percent right.

Only it would be nice if they extended their staunch defence of Democratic processes to the other countries of the EU, particularly the weaker down trodden ones, where it has been German practice to ride rough shod over all and any democratic processes.

A few examples of this. Perhaps the most glaringly insulting one was when Papandreou announced he would be holding a referendum on the terms of the new “bail out” in Greece. Merkel stamped her foot, summoned him like a vassal to Cannes (and the fool went, but that was his mistake not Merkel’s) and instructed him like an Imperial Governor that he was NOT to hold a referendum! Or if he did, it would be She, The Frau who would tell him when to hold it and what to ask!

Incidentally her ‘what to ask’ opened a can of worms that have been running riot all over Europe ever since. The question, Do you want to remain in the Euro? Thereby accepting by default that the Euro was NOT here to stay as poor Draghi keeps croaking.

Next, she told the Italians they could not hold an election despite their political impasse and imposed the good and obedient (as she thought) technocrat, Mario Monti instead. The same thing happened in Greece with the appointment of the Technocrat Papademos of questionable ability, to say the least. And thereafter German acquiescence had to be sought to hold elections with Herr Schauble (a Minister of another state) finally conceding, and then propagnadizing outrageously in favour of one party against another.

An unacceptable meddling into the affairs of another Democratic state. In addition Greece is required to fire 150,000 public sector employees and is forced to sign up on this or be deprived of any funds at all. There is no excuse for what the Greek government did, under duress or not (this is where Mr Papademos’ judgement comes into question) but Greek Public Service Employees happen have tenure for life and this is enshrined in the Constitution.

I do not agree with this, but it came about for reasons going back in history. Nevertheless, the firing of these employees is Unconstitutional. No matter! Fire them or drown! Says The Frau. The Greek Constitution is, for her, nothing but a piece of expendable rubbish.

So, what we have here is a double standard to say the least. And in fact touches on the crux of the matter where it comes to utter European dysfunction. It is not the Economics but the Politics that is at the heart of the European Crisis.

The EU has become George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where some animals are equaller than others. In the novel it is the pigs who are top dog… (excuse the pun, I couldn’t resist it). In today’s EU the PIIGS are the scum of the earth and the Germans are the Orwellian Pigs. That is, Germany is equaller than others here. So Germany’s Constitution must be upheld, Germany’s Parliamentary procedures must be respected and so on. Yes. Of course.

But should not Germany show the same respect for Constitutional legitimacy and Democratic processes in the other states too? Well no. She doesn’t. When it comes to Europe she can behave like the strutting Imperial power she believes she has become and thumb her nose at everybody and anybody else’s Democratic rights and legitimacy. Which is what she has been doing throughout the Crisis.

Now Monti, poor Monti, he got the wrong end of the stick. He urged that leaders should free themselves from the fetters of their own Parliaments to deal effectively and swiftly with the escalating problems of the Euro. What he meant was that we can’t wait for your Constitutional Court to decide on the EMS, say, in September when it is all on the verge of coming crashing down much sooner. Do something! Quick! Is his anguished cry.

But perhaps, being an appointed technocrat, he put the cart before the horse. What is needed if Europe is to function and not collapse in a heap of fragmented national hatreds, is MORE democracy Mario, not less. So far the leaders have been doing just as they please with no reference to elected bodies or the will of the people. The People of Europe do not exist. They do not have a collective voice. The European Parliament is a castrated talking shop that can make no significant decisions.

So what we need is European Democracy and no more appointed stuffed shirts like Barroso and Rompuy who simply listen to their Master’s (Mistress’s actually) voice and do her bidding quite regardless of any will of the European People.

If Europe is to work and the sovereignty of individual states is to be consigned to a central governing body in order to function, this Central Governing Body CANNOT be the German State with all its trappings, to the exclusion of all other states. If there is to be a proper European Entity, Germany too must forfeit her sovereignty to the Central Governing Body. There is no other way.

But this Central Governing Body cannot be a group of appointed apparatchiks as it is now. It cannot be dominated by the strongest state to the detriment of all others as it is now. It can only come about through free and fair elections throughout Europe. The Government can only come about through this universal European suffrage. Now whether this will be on the USA model or some other federal model is, at this point immaterial.

What is interesting is that although in his legitimate panic Monti has called for less Democracy and Germany has dug her heels in in defence of her own Democracy, the real problem is that Germany doesn’t want Democracy for Europe, neither as a whole, still less for the individual states constituting it. Only for her self!

And Monti, if he thinks about it, doesn’t want Less Democracy, but a truly Democratic Europe where decisions taken at summits, for instance, are acted upon immediately, rather than allowed to fall by the way side by the big bully on the block who is fuming with resentment at the little pip squeak who forced her hand.

Be careful Monti, you dared cross The Frau. Notoriously Germans do not like to be crossed by minor entities.  Those who dare do so are designated to be “taught a lesson”! And we all know what that means!

But Mario, you have the greatest ace up your sleeve! You can leave the Euro tomorrow and the Italian Economy will flourish! To the detriment of the German Economy of course. So which is it to be?