Thursday, January 18, 2007

The European Parliament has yet to fill the democratic deficit

This week a conservative took over from a socialist as president of the European Parliament and many of its committees changed hands. If this were a normal parliament, presumably there would have been a fiercely contested election or some other basic political shift. In practice, the changes represent Buggins's turn: halfway through the European Parliament's five-year term, the top jobs are shuffled to give someone else a go. There has been no discernible shift in popular opinion and the choice of Hans-Gert Pöttering as president was a foregone conclusion. Clearly, the European Parliament is not a normal parliament.

More: The Economist

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