We do not have an axe to grind with respect to the issues discussed at
last Friday's European Summit. But before one listens to the hysterical
accusations thrown at the British Prime Minister and Britain by the EU
political and media establishment one should give at least a cheer for
the fact that another backroom deal agreed by the European 'Elites'
behind the backs of their citizens has been torpedoed. It is exactly for
this type of situation that a strict regime of Direct Democracy in all
member states as well as in the EU institutions is required.
10-Dec-2011
Possible changes to the fiscal regime in Euro zone countries mean that
one of the most important democratic rights - the decision over taxes
and government spending - would be taken from national electorates and
vested in a supranational bureaucracy only vaguely accountable to the
citizens. Even worse - some even go so far as to give the EU Courts the
final say. This would mean that technocrats that owe their primary
allegiance to murky backroom deals between political parties in their
home country would be able to issue dictats to the citizens of states
that do no toe the line. Initial calls for a referendum to sanction the
transfer of power to the EU and its acolytes are - not surprisingly -
already being stonewalled by the political establishment. This
demonstrates the urgent need to take the decision about whether or not
to hold a referendum on any legislation out of the hand of the political
machines running our lives at present.
3-Dec-2011
The inhabitants of a small rural township in Austria had to vote on the
proposed merger of three neighbouring councils. The amalgamation was
intended to cut down administrative costs. The result of the referendum
was a resounding no as 90.3 % of the voters rejected the proposal. In
our view this was a flawed proposal as the voters never had to make an
honest choice that was impacting their own pocket book. Expenses for
local administrative units are mostly paid for by central government
funds. Only if the voters would have to bear the full cost of
administering their local government unit would they have been in a
position to assess the full consequences of their vote.
28-Nov-2011
Says an opinion survey in Austria. That does not necessarily mean that
this view can be found in all other countries (though in some the
percentage may be even higher) but we would venture a guess that the
results would not be more flattering in most countries. The regulation
of party and campaign financing as well as the end to state subsidies
and hidden financing (such as advertising in party-controlled media
outlets) is essential to restore faith in elected representatives. The
lack of direct democracy is responsible for the fact that the electorate
seems to be resigned to this lamentable state of affairs. Only direct
control of political decision making would make it possible to enforce
adherence to stricter moral standards in political life.
27-Nov-2011