There’s an interview with me over on the site of French newspaper Le Croix. In French, obviously. An auto-translated version can be found here, but it doesn’t work very well.
Tag Archives: Nosemonkey
Off to Switzerland for the weekend
Expect little in the way of anything from me until Tuesday.
(If anyone’s interested, I’ll be staying in the canton of Vaud on the northern shore of Lake Geneva/Leman, to attend a wedding in the rather pretty-looking village of Saint Saphorin. I plan to spend much of the next few days very drunk indeed on the apparently rather pleasing local wine.)
Nosemonkey is not dead, honest
In lieu of anything original from me (far too busy and knackered at the moment, so lengthy pieces on the latest round of repetitive and doubtless unproductive CAP reform discussions, likely Russia-EU relations under Medvedev, the ongoing tensions in EU-Serbian relations and all the rest must wait, I’m afraid…), have a book review like wot I done for this week’s TLS ahead of the imminent Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
We the Peoples of Europe
by Susan George
(Pluto Press, £11.99)Originally written in the run-up to the 2005 French and Dutch referenda on the (then) EU Constitution, and revised ahead of the Irish referendum on the (now) Lisbon Treaty, We the Peoples of Europe is a political polemic of the old school. Nonetheless, it is a refreshing and mostly well-written read for anyone used to the standard British brand of centre-right euroscepticism, for Susan George is of the unreconstructed, 1968-era, Marxian variety of eurosceptic, whose thought has become such a rarity in the UK as to have been all but forgotten.
Packed with emotional assertions (officials promoting the Lisbon Treaty are “despicable”, the Bolkestein Directive, designed to liberalize the EU’s service industries, aims to “annihilate all social progress made in Europe since the Second World War”) and repeated references to class warfare and the supposed evils of “neo-liberalism”, the result is occasionally – unintentionally – hilarious. Indeed, by this interpretation of the new Lisbon Treaty, Britain’s eurosceptics appear to have got every concession they wanted,for in George’s analysis this is the latest step in a vast capitalist conspiracy of shadowy political elites and big business interests to promote precisely the kind of free trade association that has long been the dream of the British right.
The end result therefore ironically shows what a successful compromise the EU Constitution-cum-Lisbon Treaty must be (George, like many commentators, never quite makes the distinction between the two), inspiring as it does opposition from both extremes of the political spectrum. But this also helps to prove George’s main contention, because underneath all the Marxian rhetoric lies the major point that the various EU treaties, laws and bodies are so complex and impenetrable as to have locked out the ordinary citizen from a European Union whose purpose and direction is increasingly unclear. What George advocates, at its heart, is something all Europeans should be able to support – a genuine, thorough reassessment of what the European Union is for, taking into account the views of the people for the first time in the project’s history. Only that way, she argues, will a lasting, viable union be constructed – whatever its political slant.
Oh, and while I’m at it, here’s a report on that UACES-Reuters award thing I got shortlisted for, and a lovely piccie of the shiny trophy itself:
Finally, in other news – remember The Sharpener, like wot I used to help run and write for? Well, it’s back. Huzzah! Have a gander – lots of good stuff in the archives, plus a vague possibility that we all might get off our arses and start adding new content sometime soon… (And yes, the same does go for this place. Promise…)
London elections – my vote, for those interested
Due to hating the party system, today I shall take great pleasure in not voting based on the colour of the rosettes – not least because the Lib Dems have inexplicably adopted UKIP’s colour scheme of yellow and purple, making things both aesthetically repulsive and slightly confusing – but on individual candidates’ policies, personalities and potential.
This entertainingly means that I will end up voting for the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems all on the same day.
Huzzah for elections where I get four votes! (Boo, however, for party list systems, which means my fourth vote is going to be very difficult to allocate – hence not having voted yet… I may even say sod it and go for the Greens, just so I can vote for four parties at once…)
In other news: Congrats to the BBC’s Alan Little, who won last night’s UACES-Reuters Reporting Europe Award, like wot I was up for. I ended up with a shiny award anyway, though, with a Jury’s Commendation, which was nice. I can also report that Reuters lay on very drinkable wine, and that Mark Mardell makes for good company at the dinner table. Ta to all involved, etc.
Edit: Oh, and sorry for the lack of posts recently. Still very busy – but there’s still a rather fun discussion going on in the comments to that democratic deficit post, though. One to which I will return soon. I hope.
Blogging about blogging
Someone got in touch to ask some questions about citizen journalism and the July 2005 London terrorist attacks. My response ended up getting rather lengthy as I went off on one, so I reckoned I may as well post it. Could prove interesting to some, even if it is another of those blogging about blogging things I thought I’d stopped doing. Continue reading
Why I’m (largely) pro-EU
Nutty eurosceptics are always good for a giggle, but can be deeply frustrating for the more sensible anti-EU types, as Tory MEP Daniel Hannan has recently discovered following his (rather silly) expulsion from the EPP – and as those who attended the Pro-Referendum Rally a few months back also found out when they found themselves associating with BNP thugs, middle-aged women dressed as Britannia, and shouty conspiracy theorists.
After all, who wants to be associated with the kinds of historically, constitutionally and legally ignorant, utterly deluded (and highly hilarious) ravings of Telegraph comments section regular “Magna Carta” and his ilk, with their propensity for spewing out gems like this (from the comments to that Hannan piece):
Now that the Queen has abdicated and become a citizen of the EU republic what happens to all the lands the Crown owns…These lands will become part of the assets of the EU republic.
45,000.000.000 dollars worth.
This will be used for the benifit of the EU and not of the British Commonwealth.
What most people do not know about is that the EU will then have a claim to New York and Washington DC USA.
Washington DC is in the Countie of Stafford and i come from Stafford shire England. Us to be known as Stafford countie. from the Earls of Essex and Ewe Duke of Buckingham,s lands.
Our family gave the first White House to the American people which is still standing in New York to day.
For similar insanity, check out the message boards of leading (and intermittently rather good) anti-EU blog EU Referendum pretty much any day of the week.
Raving EU conspiracy theories abound (I’ve even come up with a few myself), and are usually good for a giggle. But it can be exasperating for the more rational anti-EU types – of whom I know many. Indeed, it was largely the more maniacal anti-EU lunatics that first set me on the path to supporting British membership after a lifetime being fairly hardcore anti-EU. (The specific initial reason for my defecting to the pro-EU camp was, if I recall, a particularly smug and stupid article about something to do with the EU by Peter Oborne that appeared in the Spectator.)
But every now and then, it works the other way. Such as when you find out that Patricia Hewitt is likely to be Britain’s next European Commissioner (via), or whenever former Europe Minister Dennis MacShane opens his mouth.
I’ve never subscribed to “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. I do, however, reckon that if my friends all turn out to be morons, it’s worth thinking about joining the enemy. This is why I keep voting for different parties at pretty much every election. (Though I used to claim I was voting FOR specific policies or candidates, I’ve realised that I’ve actually always been voting AGAINST something.)
The way the EU’s been going recently, I’m getting increasingly tempted to switch back to being anti-EU again. I mean, just imagine if the British Commissioner was Patricia Hewitt and the President of the EU was Tony Blair… How could I, without massive hypocrisy, support such an organisation?
But then I remember the nutters in the other camp, and turn back. Currently, I find myself huddled in a shell hole in No Man’s Land, bayonet fixed. Nonetheless, I remain significantly closer to the pro-EU lines than the anti – with my gun trained sometimes forwards, sometimes back, firing off shots at anyone stupid enough to put their head above the trenches on either side.
Because, let’s face it, no one political party or ideology has all the answers. To think otherwise is to go in for a form of secular religion that’s just as dogmatic and stupid as anything the bishops, rabbis and mullahs have ever come up with. A series of loose alliances with groups that reflect aspects of your belief is by far the better course – and never commit all-out.
Sitting in No Man’s Land may mean you get shot by both sides (and yes, I have been attacked by both europhiles and europhobes in my time), but at least you’re free to follow your own orders, rather than feeling obliged to charge over the top with the rest of the herd as soon as your chosen leader blows his whistle. Times change, opinions change, – it’s the height of naive arrogance to assume that you’ll always think the same way, and (as far as I’m concerned) simply pathetic to follow the party line rather than your conscience.
Welcome to the new look
Yes, things have been a bit slow here for the last few months. Hopefully that’s now all going to change. Continue reading
A quick honesty poll
Earlier this morning I went to the cashpoint, only to discover £120 sticking out of the machine. No sign of anyone about, even after a couple of minutes of waiting.
So, am I an idiot for picking up the money and taking it in to the Tesco the machine’s attached to, then handing it in to the manager? I doubt taking it myself would have been illegal – but I’ve been pondering this all day and am now beginning to kick myself. What would you have done?
In other news, sorry for the lack of posting – I’ve been insanely busy with books to edit, articles to write, and insanely long shifts to work, so have had no time to discuss any of the many European political developments that have kicked off this month, from Gordon’s belated treaty signing to the surprise announcement that Putin’s successor is going to be one of his many anonymous former St Petersburg cronies who no one had ever thought of as a successor.
With any luck, I may be able to do a catch-up later this week. But, for now, I’m bloody knackered. (And no, I’m not looking forward to the Christmas holiday, because I’m not getting one – I’m working Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and am likely to only have about four days off – including weekends – between now and the end of January. Fun…)
Oh, and apologies to anyone who’s been unable to leave comments recently – I’ve had a couple of queries. It seems that the Bad Behaviour plugin for WordPress decided that everyone on the internet is a spammer. Me included, in fact – it wouldn’t even let me post this until I disabled it…
Posting from Brussels
If I’ve been a bit quiet recently, it’s because I’ve been insanely busy. This is being written from a hotel alongside the European Parliament buildings in Brussels. I’m slightly tipsy on free wine, and yet rather wishing I was back in Blighty, tucked up in bed with a nice single malt and awaiting tomorrow’s France/England semi-final grudge match with relish, rather than with the vague trepidation that I might miss it.
Anyway, I’ve been covering my escapades today over at dLiberation – and excitement they do make. As such:
Off to Brussels – this morning’s confusion. Random quote: “I’ve still had no confirmation that I’m registered to attend, and have had no confirmation of the schedule, location, or anything”
On not having the foggiest – written on Eurostar on the way over. Random quote: “the events of the coming weekend remain about as clear to me as the view from the train”
Utterly unscientific first impressions – written from the bowels of the European Parliament’s press room. Random quote: “A form of torture by multilingualism.”4
Other than that, there’s been some good stuff on dLiberation over the last few days, if I say so myself (to those who aren’t aware, that’s what I’ve been busy editing for openDemocracy for the last few weeks). To wit:
A real compromise on the EU presidency – the first of a four-part series from the Director of the European Studies Centre at St Antony’s College, Oxford
The cosmopolitan problem – a look at European identity from Our Kingdom editor Jon Bright
The problems of deliberative polls: legitimacy – another critique from Professor Lupia of the University of Michigan
“The Linchpin of democratic consent” – something from me on William Hague’s speech to the Tory Party Conference
The purpose of deliberative democracy, part 2 – legitimacy – more from Professor Thompson of Harvard and Dr Guttmann of the University of Pennsylavnia
The EU and national identity, part 1 – something from me on, well, the EU and national identity…
Democracy for the sake of it? – the first part of a series on how the European Parliament functions, from Paul Davies – a fellow Sharpener type, and formerly of the Electoral Reform Society’s Make My Vote Count blog
Deliberative democracy: pros and cons – a handy overview from Professor John Gastil of the University of Washington, the editor of The Deliberative Democracy Handbook
The European Commission’s communications headache – the Commission’s new communications strategy in brief
Democracy’s risky return – Dr ian O’Flynn, Lecturer in Political Theory at the University of Newcastle, on the deliberative democracy debate
Why the nation state? – a brief piece by me on a pet topic – why are we so obsessed with national boundaries for units of governance?
A discovery about the European public sphere – me again on an interesting statistic that suggests there’s more of a European demos than we’d been led to believe
Deliberative democracy and efficiency – 30-year veteran of the European Commission and Visiting Professor at the Central European University in Budapest Thomas Glaser looks to history for some clues about the chances of deliberative democracy making an impact
The purpose of deliberative democracy, part 3: public spirit – Professor Thompson and Dr Guttmann return with more easy-to-understand political theory
The subsidiarity problem, part 1 – something from me at an idea that’s meant to lie at the heart of the EU, but rarely seems to
Decisions must be taken as closely as possible to the citizen” – more on subsidiarity’s failings
The purpose of deliberative democracy, part 4: respect – Thompson and Guttmann’s penultimate part
“Substantially different” vs. “Substantially equivalent” – who’s right on the Reform Treaty, the government or the European Scrutiny Committee? I have a quick gander
Democracy for the sake of it? Part 2 – Paul Davies returns with more accessible European Parliament goodness
The EU in microcosm? Comparing the Tomorrow’s Europe poll with another recent investigation – which revealed something I reckon’s rather significant
The purpose of deliberative democracy – conclusion – Professor Thompson and Dr Guttmann wrap up
Trying to bridge the gap – Tip-top Poland blogger The Beatroot on the clash between local, national and European concerns
Two days to go – the topics for discussion – some oddness in the Tomorrow’s Europe poll’s focus
Citizens’ consultations or deliberative polls? – The organiser of the British wing of last spring’s UK citizen consultation weighs up the pros and cons
Publicity, apathy and ignorance – Me on the problem of creating effective PR campaigns for EU initiatives
The problems of deliberative polls: effects – Professor Lupia returns
The problems of deliberative polls: Representativeness – Professor Lupia identifies more potential pitfalls
Deliberative polls: the basics – Professors Fishkin and Luskin outline their technique
Deliberative polls: Representativeness – Professors Fishkin and Luskin again
Deliberative polling: Practicalities – Professors Fishkin and Luskin once again, wrapping up their overview
See? I’ve been a busy boy.
Off to Brussels on the morrow
It’s been a few years since I’ve trekked out to the Belgian capital, and once again it’s work-related – popping to this impressive building alongside the European Parliament to cover the launch of Tomorrow’s Europe for openDemocracy. More details soon – rest assured, however, that my blogging output is going to increase considerably over the next few weeks…