Lost illusions

Our elections are just finished and the Euro 2004 is at the climax - who still cares about elections for the European Parliament?

The debate is worthy however for our readers, who earn more than other readers just because they are better informed. One more reason: all political leaders managed to agree on the first EU Constitution. A new adventure is starting: the text must be endorsed by Parliaments of all 25 countries. For six of them (including Great Britain) the test will be even harder, with the European "Grand Design" at stake.

But the electors' opinion on this occasion is strange. Even for the best-informed pro-Europeans. One of the most influential net magazines, Cafebabel, written by young people all over Europe, gives a categorical diagnostic: "The July elections mean the end of the official Europe. Europe, as it was built, as it was told to us, exists no more. It broke in front of the other three Europes, who won the elections."

The first Europe in this phrase is the one bordering the official Europe. The limes of the new Rome became dangerous. A couple of hundred kilometers from the hyper-European capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Belgrade voted for Tomislav Nicolic, the candidate with the most radical nationalist and anti-European discourse.

The second Europe is the one freshly integrated within the official Europe. A Europe of indifference and refusal. Only one of five electors went to vote in the ten countries that joined the EU one month ago. And most of them voted for parties with a strong anti-European discourse. "The marketing operation launched by Brussels succeeded beyond expectations: any voter endowed with common sense from the new member countries understood that the new promised land of the EU doesn't need this European Parliament other than for a democratic make-up exercise."

Finally, the third Europe is the one that votes against Europe. In Great Britain, two totally unknown parties with 100% anti-European messages gathered together 22% of the votes - the same amount gathered by the Labour Party of Tony Blair! In France the situation is similar, with the eternal Le Pen gathering 10% of the votes, while the extreme leftists gathered another 8%. Obviously, Europe doesn't feel fine!

The paradox is shocking. Here it is, as it appears in the open letter sent by journalist Adriano Farano to the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi: "Doesn't it look strange to you that, with the Parliament getting more and more power, vote abstaining seem to increase? It should happen the other way: with national states in crisis and with Europe more and more important for our lives, the public's interest should increase. However, it drops dramatically. Doesn't it look strange to you that, with more and more challenges to face, the apathy and insatisfaction are always growing? Doesn't it look strange to you that, with the euro, with the greatest EU extension ever, with the signing of a Constitutional Treaty, in spite of all such successes, Europeans do not feel involved in a European buildup advancing for fifty years?"

It is rare to see such a sharp diagnostic for a political problem!

Maybe the young Europeans, witnessing this crisis, have lost something: the belief in a myth called the European construction. They lost their illusions, at least partially!

But, as Romanians use to say, "all evil has its good". From this point forward a new Europe might start, one directly connected with the Europeans themselves. I tend to agree with people at Babelcafe, with some nuance however: the official myth of Europe is dying.

Let's hope Europe turns out fine.