EU elections and the Dark Tower

Yesterday, Sunday the 13th of June 2004, saw the European Union member states make their elections for representatives, and it was a disaster. In most countries voter turnout was far below 50%, and in several countries, including Sweden, discontent parties saw huge gains.

I really hope EU representatives are listening and thinking hard about what to do to turn this disturbing trend around. The organization is now in a situation where a majority of voters in member states are completely disgusted and turned off, while at the same time the EU is in the process of setting down exactly what its super-national powers are.

The way things are heading at this point, it seems the best we can hope for is a situation like the one in the US today, where too many people are outside the democratic tradition, have vilified the democratically elected government, and tend to think of it like an invading force. These are the thought processes that generate people like Timothy McVeigh.

At the worst, though, we may end up with a complete disconnect, where the powers that be in Brussels are set completely adrift from their voters, thus creating a self-absorbed nakedly power-hungry edifice that in no way represents the member countries.

This is frighteningly like the most dystopic of science fiction novels.