One of the main charges against the choice of Herman van Rompuy as the first permanent European Council President and Catherine Ashton as the EU’s foreign affairs supremo is the supposed “undemocratic” nature of the selection process. People who opposed the Lisbon Treaty have been particularly critical of the conclave-like decision-making. Daniel Hannan called it a “stitch-up that demeans democracy”.
But it is hard to believe those critical voices, including on Coffee House, really want a democratic process as opposed to simply finding another thing to dislike about the EU (a fair position, but just not the same).
Let us think through for a moment what a democratic election would mean. It would mean an election campaign larger than the US presidential election (though smaller than India’s). It would mean a mandate for the President of the Council beyond that of any EU government.
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