Comments on Europe

[F2d5thCav]

How committees disable democracy, European-style

On this topic, I'm really a fish out of water, so the Europeans on our site may wish to make comments of their own about this topic.

The term "western democracies" is truly so broad that it signifies almost nothing.

Let's get one brutal truth out of the way quickly.  A "democracy" and a "free society" are not the same thing.  They may coexist in some countries, but having one is not a guarantee of having the other.

Most of the European countries, EU or not, are in fact authoritarian police states.  One must get past the common image of uniformed strongmen beating up protesters; those scenes identify acts of repression, but are not everyday aspects of life in a police state.

The police state in truth is one in which the public authorities exercise enough control to throttle political developments they do not care for, and are empowered by the law in doing so.  Often, the laws include statutes identifying the penalties for insult or slander, and the authorities easily use these laws to punish anyone who doesn't very carefully formulate criticism or complaints.  When people know that simply for "giving the bird", they can be charged a thousand Euros, it places them in a mental cage of their own making from which don't stray too far.

In Europe, one is required to register with the authorities so that they know where one resides, and this act is a prerequisite to interacting with government services in any form.  It is a basic element of the state's reach into the individual's life; "we know where you are" (and if we don't, you are a criminal).  In such ways, European societies have less freedom than that to which Americans are accustomed.  In the USA, the individual is a cult figure; in Europe, social order is held more valuable than individual expression. 

Thus, as populist movements have emerged in recent years in several European countries, a political challenge developed for the traditional political parties:  how to keep the newcomers out, or, at least, in a position of little influence.  This mentality has developed as a by-product of support for the European Union.  The populists don't want national membership in the Union, thus their power must be curbed.

Sweden and Germany provide clear examples of this process in action.  In both countries, the amount of immigration has increased enough to trigger the emergence of populist movements.  These populist movements are oriented against the European Union because the EU encourages immigration, particularly from the Middle East and Africa.

Although the democratic political process of Sweden and Germany have allowed the populists to win seats in the national parliaments, their influence has been neatly curbed by unusual behavior of the traditional parties.  That is to say, traditional parties that were in opposition to each for decades suddenly agreed to form 'coalition governments' in which the traditional parties shared power . . . a tactic adopted solely for the purpose of keeping the populists out of power (read: avoid having populist politicians as government ministers).  So while no traditional party had a majority of the votes, these odd coalitions can claim to have a majority and thus hold the populists outside of the centers of power.

While this tactic works, it has a huge downside: not much of importance is addressed by the coalition governments because the traditional parties can't agree on anything except maintaining the coalition to keep the newcomers out of power.  Not only that, but it also undermines the concept of democracy itself.  If a group of people can become numerous enough to elect representatives to a government yet not have any influence within it . . . at some point, those people will see no utility in participating in democracy and will seek other ways to obtain and exercise power.

Seen this way, the coalition government formation tactic is just slamming a lid down upon a boiling pot.  The lid can hold for a while, but at some point, it will be spectacularly blown off the pot.  There is no specific timeline for this blow-up to occur.  The authoritarian nature of the European governments gives them a great deal of control over the national media, and thus there is little discussion in the media about these topics.  It follows then that the traditional parties feel little pressure to genuinely address the problems and even less motivation to engage in self-reflection and self-correction.  Yet, at some point, a societal correction occurs whether it is in the interest of the traditional parties or not.

Welcome to Europe.  Beneath the smooth exterior of the cafe society and its pleasing architecture, there are troubling currents and thoroughly discontented inhabitants.  Not all by any means, but the numbers of those who believe they have become losers are rapidly increasing.

Cheers