5 ms·
If only there was an election, like, tomorrow. I'd go and vote.
by bux93 2y ago
If only there was an election, like, tomorrow. I'd go and vote.
- marginalia_nu 2y agoIt's an election for the parliament, which holds a fraction of the power in the EU. The executive branch of the EU has basically zero accountability to its citizens.
- rwmj 2y agoEven if this premise was true (it isn't), the executive branch is made up of members of national governments, all democratic nations.
- marginalia_nu 2y agoDemocracy isn't transitive though. If a French politician does something to cause issues in Greece, there's nothing the greeks can do about it, and no reason for the french voters to care, since their national vote is primarily about local politics. When was the last time the implications for the European Council was even mentioned in the context of (any) local election? The problem is that there is no way to approve of a government locally, but disapprove of their performance in the EC; and given the two conflicting concerns, virtually everyone will favor the former over the latter. This means that de facto there is no voter accountability for the executive branch.
- rwmj 2y agoWhich is the part that the European Parliament solves. Would advise voting tomorrow if you are able.
- marginalia_nu 2y agoIt solves nothing. Having part of a process be democratic does not make the process as a whole democratic. Having mere elements of democratic representation in a body that is empowered with overriding local laws and constitutions is not good enough.
- bux93 2y agoThere's also no way to approve of a politician's position on A, while disapproving of their position on B. Also known as "holding your nose" while voting. By your measure, nothing short of a direct referendum on a line-by-line basis would be democratic.