Sir,
Robert Graham stated that there is no genuine public opinion in Europe, and that, probably there will never be one. His analysis is that the media are mostly organised on a national basis, and that politicians respond to the media on a national level because that’s where one benefit to them lies. But Graham stops right there, and doesn’t ask any further questions about the likely consequences of this situation.
For consequences there will be. Back in the 19th century, John Stuart Mill argued that democracy needs a common language as one of its prerequisites. The equation is therefore simple: No common language = no common understanding in the public sphere = no democracy.
During the course of last year it became clear that the foundations of the European Union are rapidly altering. Voters’ rejection of the constitutional treaty in France and the Netherlands showed that the idea of “Europe“ as a guarantee of peace and welfare is no longer predominant. In the wake of those two referendums, public opinion in several countries, including Germany, changed from healthy margins of support for the constitution to its complete rejection. The shadows of World War II are receding in the collective subconsciousness of Europeans, and people now ask for more from European politics than peace and mutual understanding. They want transparency of decision-making, visible political responsibility and the power to honour or to punish European politicians. In short, they want democracy on a European level, that is clear-cut and comprehensible.
The EU’s Institutions cannot live in a void. They need the support of European public opinion, and if they loose it, their own future will be endangered. If more democracy at the European level is the answer – as has been claimed for decades – what can be done to foster it? Successive treaties and projects like the constitution are only one answer. The other must be the creation of a European “public sphere” and a genuine European public opinion. J.S. Mill was right on one important point: A sphere for common discussion and understanding is the heartbeat of any democracy.
Democracy itself was once a pipe dream, even in England. A genuine European public sphere is deeply missed by more and more Europeans. Your new magazine
Europe’s World is a welcome signal that increasingly people are taking up the challenge and trying to make the voices of getting on for 500m Europeans heard more loudly.