The Decline Of European Democracy

It's an awesome phenomenon, this readiness of national politicians to place the EU's interests before their own. Think of John Major breaking his party over Maastricht. Think of Gordon Brown, who had been determined to present himself as an honest leader after years of Blairite spin, having to start by pretending that Lisbon was different from the European Constitution, the smoke billowing from his pants as he kept woodenly repeating the claim...Think of Bertie Ahern resigning as Ireland's Taoiseach so that the sleaze allegations levelled against him shouldn't prejudice the "Yes" campaign. Think of Belgium, which had been without a government since its election, cobbling together a ministry for a couple of weeks in order to ratify the treaty whereupon, job done, it went back to dissolving....

...The lack of democracy intrinsic in Brussels – the way it is run by unelected functionaries, the way it swats aside referendum results – has spilt over into its constituent nations. In order to make an undemocratic system work, they too must become less democratic.