If Brussels adopted its professed beliefs, the European Fee and its head would fall
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Fee that runs the EU is lastly going through an extended overdue no-confidence vote. Its probabilities of success, all observers agree, are very small. And but, this is a crucial second.
That’s as a result of the only strongest politician within the EU is just not, for example, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz or French President Emmanuel Macron (however their very own delusions of grandeur), however Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU Fee. As a result of in NATO-EU Europe, the true measure of energy now could be the flexibility to spoil no matter sorry remnants of democracy are nonetheless standing. And despite very powerful competitors, von der Leyen is the worst, most corrupting spoiler of all of them.
This is because of three information. The primary is structural: The EU was designed not to be a ‘democracy’ – nevertheless flawed – however one huge, entrenched, and rising ‘democracy deficit’. Its goal has by no means been to shaft the US, even when American President Donald Trump can’t cease whining about that. The EU’s actual core perform is to extinguish democracy in Europe by shifting real energy from nation-states with some, if already meagre, standard participation in political decision-making to an unelected paperwork, of which the Fee is the middle and high.
The second truth is a matter of particular person character and therefore duty: Ursula von der Leyen is the embodiment of an insatiable lust for private, unaccountable energy. She gained’t admit it, in fact, however her habits speaks volumes: Von der Leyen doesn’t see herself as a public servant however firmly believes that it’s the public that should serve her.
Consider these two components – the structural and the person – if you want, as broadly much like what occurred in the course of the rise of Joseph Stalin within the former Soviet Union: Just like the EU, the post-revolutionary Communist celebration was constructed to limit political decision-making to a small and self-selecting group of true believers. And solely these confessing the right “values” have been even provided an opportunity to hitch. Like von der Leyen, Stalin managed to show this intentionally created “democracy deficit” to his personal benefit by basing his private despotism on it.
In the event you assume that analogy is far-fetched, contemplate that in each circumstances, the rise of the Soviet despot and that of the European Fee president, actual energy has been concentrated in an overbearing and invasive paperwork that, formally, ought to solely be an government organ. There’s a cause why, if you happen to take one tiny step again, “basic secretary” sounds relatively much like “fee president.”
After which there may be the third indisputable fact that has facilitated von der Leyen’s efficiency as NATO-EU’s high spoiler. On this respect, she actually doesn’t resemble Stalin in any respect, however relatively one of many many Jap European satraps of Chilly Conflict Jap Europe. Like trusty Walter Ulbricht of early East Germany or Poland’s Boleslaw Bierut who suffered a coronary heart assault when Khruschev made Stalin the autumn man, von der Leyen is a vassal chief, simply working for an additional outdoors empire. So clearly, so shamelessly that even Politico has – rightly – labeled her the EU’s “American president.”
The fees that her political opponents within the EU parliament have simply used to provoke the present no-confidence vote are much less elementary – whereas nonetheless reflecting gorgeous misbehavior – and extra particular, as they should be.
In essence, they aim von der Leyen’s – and the entire Fee’s – scandalous dealing with of the Covid-19 disaster (scandalous by the way in which from any angle, whether or not you approve or disapprove of vaccines); her subsequent and unlawful refusal to offer key info on what she and the CEO of massive pharma firm Pfizer have been as much as throughout that interval in messages that have been non-public however shouldn’t have been; waste (to say the least) within the dealing with of a 650 billion-euro post-Corona disaster restoration fund; the misuse of a authorized loophole to spice up armaments spending by way of the EU; and final however not least, the weaponization of digital laws to intervene within the latest Romanian, in addition to German elections.
What all these transgressions have in frequent is just not solely that they could very properly be legal. They’re additionally all variants of the identical, basically easy ruse: the manipulation and even fabrication of “emergencies” which might be then exploited as cowl for always escalating abuses of energy. If there may be one fundamental precept of von der Leyen’s energy seize, that is it. Once more, Stalin knew a factor or two about that trick.
In sum, the sponsors of the no-confidence vote conclude “that the Fee led by President Ursula von der Leyen now not instructions the boldness of Parliament to uphold the rules of transparency, accountability, and good governance important to a democratic Union.” They name on the Fee “to resign as a consequence of repeated failures to make sure transparency and to its persistent disregard for democratic oversight and the rule of regulation throughout the Union.”
And they’re clearly proper. If the EU was a midway lawful, trustworthy, and wise group, this must be a slam-dunk case of no confidence, and the Fee, with Ursula von der Leyen at its head, ought to fall. There’s a precedent, too: In 1999, a complete EU Fee did resign, even with out a no-confidence vote. A devastating report on corruption, fraud, nepotism, and mismanagement was sufficient.
Clearly, if something, the EU has solely regressed since then. In the present day it has a Fee which the EU’s personal transparency chief has chastised as not solely unelected and opaque, but additionally staffed with “consiglieri,” a time period from mafia lingo. And the place the gang consists of “consiglieri,” the boss should be a don.
But the EU now is just not solely extremely dysfunctional however, within the wider sense of the phrase, basically corrupt. Ways will beat precept any day, no exceptions. That’s the reason many of the over 700 parliamentarians within the European parliament will fail to do the correct factor and eject von der Leyen and her Fee.
In the meantime, the same old soiled methods have been employed towards von der Leyen’s challengers. Let’s not even deal with the petty and brazen procedural techniques deployed by the European Parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola, to stifle debate on the no-confidence movement, as rightly castigated by AfD member of parliament Christine Anderson.
Or von der Leyen’s personal cringeworthy try and blame any criticism of her as soon as once more on “extremism,” “polarization,” and manipulation by – as she clearly implied – the large dangerous Russians and “Putin” personally. In the same daft spirit, the pinnacle of von der Leyen’s conservative grouping within the European parliament, Manfred Weber declared the entire vote a “waste of time” – not less than he’s trustworthy about his contempt for democratic procedures and the rights of parliamentarians, you may say – and, in fact, a boon to Russia.
Perish the thought that if something “performs into the palms” of any opponents of the EU, it’s exactly the Fee’s authoritarianism and corruption in addition to low-cost, demagogic makes an attempt to close down legit criticism by shouting “Russia, Russia, Russia!”
The chief of the no-confidence movement, Gheorghe Piperea, with a background as a lawyer and decide in Bucharest, is routinely being smeared as “far proper,” for example within the New York Occasions. This label is then prolonged to all those that dare insurgent towards the Fee, and – step quantity three – used to justify not supporting their ininitiative. So devious, so easy.
In actuality, the problem of the place precisely Piperea and his supporters stand on the political spectrum is solely irrelevant. What issues is the case that they’re advancing, and that’s iron-clad. Certainly, if this needs to be finished by the “margins” of the European Parliament, then disgrace on its self-appointed “heart” – and much more so for serving to shield von der Leyen additional by serving to defeat this lengthy overdue problem to her misrule.
However that’s, in fact, the actual difficulty right here: Von der Leyen bears monumental particular person duty, together with for the EU’s legal and evil – there are not any different phrases – help for Israel whereas the Zionist apartheid state is committing the Gaza Genocide and one warfare of aggression after one other towards its neighbors, close to and much. However Von der Leyen can solely be what she is because of constructions designed to each imitate and in actuality, kill democracy. And in addition because of the massive majority of these with out a conscience – on the very least – within the EU Parliament. Von der Leyen, like all villains of historical past, is just not alone; she is merely the very worst.
The statements, views and opinions expressed on this column are solely these of the writer and don’t essentially symbolize these of RT.
