Author: Anthony

The EU and Italy

From Brussels, an example of the way the Italians think about the EU.

The BBC reports that the Italian Prime Minister’s nominee for Justice Commissioner, Rocco Buttiglione, has been rejected in a non-binding vote by the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament. Mr Buttiglione had previously expressed the personal view that homosexuality is a sin.

In some countries (France and Britain spring to mind), this would be met by wounded pride and affronted dignity. In Italy, while Mr Berlusconi’s office fumed, the opposition’s reaction was to point to how Mr Berlusconi was damaging Italy’s credibility in the EU. An Italian gay rights group said:

“We are pleased and reassured by the decision: the Vatican’s backyard ends at the Alps”

Is this concern with European opinion a sign that Italy has a mature appreciation for its place in a post-nationalistic Europe? Or is it (as I believe it is) a sign that the country is still suffering from “political cringe” when it comes to the rest of the EU?

Kwasniewski on rabble-rousing

I'm currently reading <a href="http://www.prezydent.pl/pre/en_index.php3">Aleksander Kwasniewski's</a> 2000 book "Our home – Poland" (PDF download available in <a href="http://www.prezydent.pl/media/our_home_Poland.pdf">English</a> and <a href="http://www.prezydent.pl/media/dom_wszystkich_Polska.pdf">Polish</a>). It's a fairly interesting read, as re-election campaign books go.

Mr Kwasniewski is rightly presidential in his attacks on partisanship, and the tendency for politicians to foretell the end of Polish democracy every time they disagree. (If Mr Kwasniewski is worried that this <a href="http://www.ongoing-tales.com/SERIALS/oldtime/FAIRYTALES/chicklicken.html">Chicken Licken</a> syndrome is restricted to Poland, I'm sure the British Embassy can provide him with some back issues of the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/dailymail/home.html?in_page_id=1766">Mail</a>, the <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/">Express</a> and the <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/">Spectator</a>.)

I thought these paragraphs (from p. 19 of the English version), were a good illustration of the argument:

<blockquote>The lack of dialogue, the language of political aggression and, in extreme cases, 'political apartheid', threaten to divide Poland in two halves. This is a great danger for democracy and Poland's future. I do not want to sound sarcastic, but this would be proof of a lack of imagination – felling the bough on which our entire political establishment is sitting.

When I was a journalist, and editor-in-chief at the student weekly <i>itd</i> and later <i>Sztandar Mlodych</i>, I always opposed using the language of aggression. I believed that the task of the media, among other things, is to promote the political culture of the general public, to accustom people to the strength of arguments and not just strong language and accuusations.</blockquote>

Nemo iudex in causa sua, part 94

A <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20795-2004Oct9.html">report</a> in the Washington Post on partisan rows over election procedure proves once again the old legal maxim – "No-one should be judge in his own case".

NYT profiles John Kerry

There's an interesting and detailed profile of John Kerry in the New York Times magazine (and online <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/10/magazine/10KERRY.html?oref=login">here</a>). It is, to use a very <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/y/yesminister_7777145.shtml">Sir Humphrey</a> term of approval, nuanced.

Gary Jones on extreme democracy

<a href="http://www.garyjones.org">Gary Jones</A> has a <a href="http://www.garyjones.org/mt/archives/000084.html">review</a> of the <a href="http://www.extremedemocracy.com/">Extreme Democracy</a> book/blog/wiki thing. The piece itself is a little densely-written, and spattered with invective against Joi Ito and Bruce Sterling, but it is worth persevering with.

Mr Jones makes an fair case against some of the claims made for emergent democracy. He is particularly strong on the need to avoid information cascades (which distort decision making), and the antidemocratic nature of simple majoritarianism. I myself think that he takes a good argument too far at time – I doubt, for example, that Joi Ito really wants to take over the world – but his piece is a useful reminder of the importance of variety, local independence and competition in democratic systems.

His arguments echo one of his earlier pieces, also worth reading, called <a href="http://www.garyjones.org/mt/archives/000075.html">Situation Normal</A>.

Two views of the European Union

From the US: the <a href="http://www.utne.com">Utne Reader</a> has a very positive piece about the <a href="http://www.utne.com/pub/2004_125/promo/11349-1.html">European Dream</a> (over the American dream).

From the UK: The <a href="http://www.ukip.org">UK Independence Party</a> held its annual conference (semi-literate conference report <a href="http://www.ukip.org/index.php?menu=conference&page=conferencenews">here</a>) at which the <a href=
"http://www.europa.eu.int">European Union</a> was held up as all that is evil and sinister.

We report, you decide.

Politics at home and abroad

An interesting day, politically. <a href="http://www.labour.org.uk">Labour</a> have won the <a hrf="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3706100.stm">Hartlepool by-election</a>, though with a reduced majority as you might expect. More interestingly, <a href="http://www.ukip.org/">UKIP</a> have pushed the <a href="http//www.conservatives.org">Conservatives</a> into fourth place (the Liberal Democrats came second). A by-election is not a general election, but if UKIP can do so well in a national election, do the Tories have something to worry about? In the worst-case scenario, a split of the rightist vote could make even the safest constituencies – the <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/results_constituencies/constituencies/333.stm">Huntingdons</a>, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/results_constituencies/constituencies/617.stm">Wealdens</a> and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/results_constituencies/constituencies/390.stm">Maidstones</a> of this world – into contestable seats. The Tories won't want to have to fight on two flanks.

Also, in America, the consensus view seems to be that <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64102-2004Oct1.html?referrer=email">John Kerry outperformed President Bush</a> in the first of the three presidential debates. Given that foreign policy is one of the main issues of this campaign, and that people's views of the candidates will be created much more by this debate than by the next two, this could be a very significant gain for Senator Kerry's wobbly campaign. He is known as a strong finisher – could he come from behind in the final furlong?