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Ursula Von Der Leyen was appointed by the EU national leaders and elected by the EU parliament (which is elected by EU voters). It's as "democratically elected"

Ursula Von Der Leyen was appointed by the EU national leaders and elected by the EU parliament (which is elected by EU voters). It's as "democratically elected" as any minister in any democratic government: the people elect those that appoint the person. The same applies for EU commissioners. Yes it becomes second- or third hand democracy (the EU parliamentarians are usually appointed by their domestic parties, the appointments for commissioners are appointed by other politicians and so on). But such is representative democracy. At the end of the day it's the elected members of the parliament that vote on all positions, and all laws.

nvm0n2 3y ago
It is tiresome how people promote this propaganda. > Ursula Von Der Leyen was appointed by the EU national leaders and elected by the EU parliament She was "elected" by the EP in a vote in which she was the only allowed candidate and still nearly lost because so many of the MEPs refused to vote in digust. Sorry, but an election in which there's only one option is not an election, that's an abuse of the word. And the Parliament is itself not a real Parliament. It has no actual powers of any use, so the people who run for it can't have policies. They rubber stamp what the Commission wants to do, they cannot override or control it. Just like the "election" of von der Leyen, this is a sinister abuse of terminology: it is an abuse of the word Parliament. Finally, we actually have no idea how von der Leyen got her job. She is the most powerful person in Europe and nobody can answer basic questions about how that happened. Yes, the leaders of the member states went into a room, and when they came out vdL was in charge. What was discussed in that room? Who were the other candidates? Were they any? If not, why not? Was there a vote? By which criteria was she judged? Did every country's leader even get a chance to speak at all? Were they threatened? (The EU threatens members routinely so it is not unthinkable). The truth is nobody knows the answer to any of these things because despite the EU being supposedly democratic, the people who are theoretically in charge are all sworn to secrecy. (by whom?! that's also a secret!) This is an absolute joke. Europeans should all be collectively ashamed of what a pathetically totalitarian system they have allowed their ruling classes to construct, and then they should work tirelessly towards its abolition.
- alkonaut 3y ago
  > She was "elected" by the EP in a vote in which she was the only allowed candidate That’s an approval, yes. Had she been rejected a new candidate would be presented, and so on. I agree it could have been better to have N candidates presented to begin with, but this procedure is how many top political positions are appointed.

nvm0n2 3y ago

It is tiresome how people promote this propaganda. > Ursula Von Der Leyen was appointed by the EU national leaders and elected by the EU parliament She was "elected" by the EP in a vote in which she was the only allowed candidate and still nearly lost because so many of the MEPs refused to vote in digust. Sorry, but an election in which there's only one option is not an election, that's an abuse of the word. And the Parliament is itself not a real Parliament. It has no actual powers of any use, so the people who run for it can't have policies. They rubber stamp what the Commission wants to do, they cannot override or control it. Just like the "election" of von der Leyen, this is a sinister abuse of terminology: it is an abuse of the word Parliament. Finally, we actually have no idea how von der Leyen got her job. She is the most powerful person in Europe and nobody can answer basic questions about how that happened. Yes, the leaders of the member states went into a room, and when they came out vdL was in charge. What was discussed in that room? Who were the other candidates? Were they any? If not, why not? Was there a vote? By which criteria was she judged? Did every country's leader even get a chance to speak at all? Were they threatened? (The EU threatens members routinely so it is not unthinkable). The truth is nobody knows the answer to any of these things because despite the EU being supposedly democratic, the people who are theoretically in charge are all sworn to secrecy. (by whom?! that's also a secret!) This is an absolute joke. Europeans should all be collectively ashamed of what a pathetically totalitarian system they have allowed their ruling classes to construct, and then they should work tirelessly towards its abolition.

alkonaut 3y ago
> She was "elected" by the EP in a vote in which she was the only allowed candidate That’s an approval, yes. Had she been rejected a new candidate would be presented, and so on. I agree it could have been better to have N candidates presented to begin with, but this procedure is how many top political positions are appointed.