Europhobes claim to be opposed to rule by 'unelected bureaucrats from Brussels'. In reality, of course, those bureaucrats are answerable to the European Commission and the European Council: the former made up of commissioners nominated by the democratically elected governments of the EU's member states, the latter composed of the heads of those self-same governments. However the most directly democratic European institution is the European Parliament, elected by universal suffrage across the EU. And, after the 2014 election, it was the democratically elected parliament, rather than the European Council, which was supposed to choose the next President of the European Commission. A step towards greater democratic accountability one would have thought.
Here's David Cameron's take on the change as reported in Tuesday's Corriere della Sera - strangely, I could find no mention of his statement in the British press, so can't quote him in the original English. I guess its logical absurdity would have been apparent to even the dimmest eurosceptic:
… cedere potere al Parlamento europeo, riconoscendogli la possibilità di esprimere un suo candidato, vuol dire innescare un processo irreversible. [… to cede power to the European Parliament, allowing it the possibility of choosing its own candidate, means sparking off an irreversible process.]
One which would lead to greater democracy, but which is fiercely opposed by Cameron and the other self-proclaimed opponents of rule by unelected Brussels bureaucrats.
A clue to what lay behind his topsey-turvey logic can be found in yesterday's Corriere which contained the following statement by the former Vice-President of the European Commission, Antonio Tajani:
Nell’Europarlamento non c’è mai stata una maggioranza precostituita, ma una la si è sempre trovata. E l’Europarlamento, come unica istituzione Ue eletta dai cittadini, ha una grande responsabilità: quella di consolidare appunto l’Europa dei cittadini, non dei banchieri, delle lobby. [There has never been a pre-established majority in the European Parliament, but one is always found eventually. And the European Parliament, the only one of the EU's institutions to be directly elected by its citizens, has a great responsibility: that of strengthening a Europe which represents its citizens rather than bankers or lobbyists.]
It's no wonder that Cameron, Farage, Le Pen and Salvini are opposed to a European Parliament which could threaten the interests they front. The pity is that they have persuaded so many ordinary people to reject the one European institution which could possibly protect their interests.
