Poland votes tomorrow in the European parliamentary elections. It's been 20 years since Poland joined the EU, a period of remarkable social and economic progress in Poland. And Poland's governance has improved greatly, at local as well as at national levels, with much best-practice absorbed from other EU states. Tragically, the UK has cut itself off from the EU, to the detriment of its own economy, and for Poland, Brexit has led to the loss of a mentor and a natural ally in Brussels as a counterweight to the Paris-Berlin axis.
We vote tomorrow – but what's at stake?
One major problem that the EU has when selling itself to the public is its complexity. Complexity is both a feature and a bug. On the one hand, the EU is not a hierarchy led by a single strongman. Billionaires know whom to phone in London or Washington to get things their way. But having distributed centres of power (the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and the European Parliament) makes it harder for corrupt actors to bend the system their way. And harder for the average voter to understand.
This very complexity doesn't sit easily with the uncurious. Simplicity and strongmen is what many crave. Simple answers to intractable problems, simple answers that they can understand; all too often simple answers that are wrong.
Even I, who have travelled to Brussels four times to meet with MEPs and lobbyists to get a better understanding of how the EU functions, even I who follow the Politico EU newsletter daily, even I have only the sketchiest understanding of the complex machinery at the heart of the European Union and how it really works. So – question to my Polish readers: do you know (without looking up) your Euro-parliamentary constituency and its boundaries? How many MEPs represent your constituency? Which party are they from? I certainly didn't know, despite having voted in every one of Poland's post-2004 European elections.
But does it even matter?
Right now, there are three major issues facing Europe; Russian aggression, climate change and the Green Deal, and migration. A further issue is Europe's flagging competitiveness in the global economy.
Russia's military doctrine of using information warfare against the West means that discontent is being weaponised, and social media is proving an ideal conduit. Social media has removed the filter from social discourse. Bad actors can speak directly to the discombobulated, at scale. The result, in terms of democracy, has been that lies can spread through society with devastating effect (see Brexit).
Checks and balances, devolved power, consensus and compromise, may not be sexy, but at the end of the day this form of governance works better than the strongman governance model. By any metric, former USSR republics now in EU membership are wealthier, healthier and happier than those currently under an authoritarian or totalitarian leader.
We need to learn to look at the big picture, and not focus on the grit in our shoe. Human progress from barbarism and might-is-right towards Western democracy has not been easy or painless. Western democracy could do better. It will evolve, and it will ultimately prove itself superior to totalitarianism.
Below: Warsaw, 4 June 2024, on the 35th anniversary of the elections that brought communism to an end in Poland, a rally called by prime minister Donald Tusk. He reminded us that democracy is not a one-way process and can be turned back. Note the singular absence of young people. With no memories of the bad old days of communist dictatorship, they have become complacent. I hope tomorrow's turnout will be higher than the 45.7% in the 2019 European election...
Europe could be governed better. But historically, and looking at its neighbours – and looking at its history – it could also be a whole lot worse. Let's be thankful for what we've got, and vote tomorrow to make sure it gets no worse, by preventing populist wreckers from getting into the European parliament.
This time two years ago:
Savants, UFOs and psychic abilities
A proud moment
This time four years ago
Rail progress - Krężel to Chynów
Fans fly in for the football
This time 13 years ago:
Cara al Sol - part II
This time 14 years ago:
Still struggling with the floodwaters
This time 15 years ago:
European elections - and I buy used D40
The time 16 years ago:
To the Vistula, by bike
This time 17 years ago:
Poppy profusion
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