Massendemokratie

In der ORF-Pressestunde war heute Othmar Karas zu Gast, der erste Vizepräsident des Europäischen Parlaments. Dieser Auftritt hat mich daran erinnert, dass in den österreichischen Medien kaum über das Europäische Parlament berichtet wird. Das zeigt schön die Problematik der Massendemokratie auf: Alle fünf Jahre wird über etwas abgestimmt, über das die meisten Bürger kaum etwas wissen. Nur kurz vor den Wahlen werben die Parteien mit ihren Positionen. Ob etwas davon dann in der praktischen parlamentarischen Arbeit verwirklicht wurde, erfährt man nicht.

So hat Claudia Gamon beispielsweise von den "Vereinigten Staaten von Europa" gesprochen. Sind wir diesen in den letzten vier Jahren näher gekommen? Keine Ahnung.

Als ich selbst kandidiert habe, habe ich selbst Recherchen darüber angestellt, welche Gesetze das Europäische Parlament in nächster Zeit zu beschließen vorhat. Meiner Erinnerung nach war ich der einzige Kandidat, der in seiner Wahlrede auf konkrete Gesetzesvorhaben eingegangen ist.

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