Airstrip One

Montesquieu's Revenge - 7th December 2002, 20.17

After listening to Any Questions today I understood that Frederick Forsyth would bang on about how bad Europe was. It was a surprise to hear Damien Green list the advantages of the European Union and Patricia Hodge sound ever so slightly more Eurosceptic but neither received an enthusiastic round of applause. As always, Patricia Hodge proved that New Labour is indecent, nasty and arrogant through its willingness to descend to personal slurs: by stating that Frederick Forsyth should stick to reading novels and leave politics to the professional politicians. With such contempt for commentators outside their magic circle, is it a wonder the BNP is enjoying greater success.

But this digression illuminates how the real debate on Europe is not reported over here with the collusion of all political parties. Further to an earlier posting on the European Commission, an article in the Financial Times with Antonio Vitorino, casts more light on their motives. The Commission took an 'all or nothing' approach by setting out their bid to become the executive of a new continental state. Otherwise, they would watch their status diminish to that of an economic civil service.

Democracy was not viewed as part of their agenda, as their proposal for pan-European political lists in elections proved, reducing local representation to nothing.

Documentary sources can be found at Euractiv, along with a cursory summary of how this strong proposal has proved divisive.