No debate…
The only thing the European elections did not manage to achieve was to bring Greek citizens any closer to thinking about major European issues. Once again, the whole procedure only served to highlight a national tendency toward navel gazing, primarily fostered by the country’s political class. Indeed, political leaders essentially used the Euro elections to consolidate the political influence their parties had gained in the March general elections, and so they systematically avoided any debate about European affairs. As a result, a large proportion of the voting public remain unaware that European affairs are also national concerns, as EU regulations and decisions directly affect an estimated 70 percent of national economic and social activity. There is no doubt that there is general dissatisfaction, even disappointment, among European citizens regarding the modus operandi of the EU – a fact reflected in the low turnout at last weekend’s European Parliament elections. And the major political parties have used this as a pretext for their reluctance to engage in debate on critical European issues. But whichever government is in power always displays a pathological interest in the precious EU funds without which our debt-ridden country would surely have gone bust by now…
