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Schümer, Dirk
2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Dirk Schümer against overly-complex Europe
The European Union must give power back to national parliaments or it will face failure, warns Europe correspondent Dirk Schümer in the conservative Sunday paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung: "If the Dutch had been asked if they were for the abolishment of border controls at Venlo or if the people of Luxemburg had been asked if they wanted to pay a special tax for Italian farmers, the rejection rate would certainly have topped ninety percent. ... A key factor is missing: Europe has no common public sphere. The EU demonstrates that democracy can never succeed without a common discourse. The make-up of the European Parliament, which in any case has very little say, is determined in national election campaigns. Europe's news, political leaders, cultures of conflict and traditions have all remained purely national matters. Because that is the case, both the Left and the Right vote in the majority against all established parties as soon as the topic of Europe comes up. ... The only thing that can help Europe today is for the rumbling of its overly-complex machinery to stop. All decision-making processes must once more become democratic, then they must be relocated to the national, regional or local level. All enlargement must be stopped."
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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Europe
Can Berlusconi return to power?
In Italy the differences between left and right have long since become blurred and have been replaced by a conflict of interests between young and old, Dirk Schümer writes. "But now the country is paying the price for the paternalistic mentality of the political class and the inherent blocking of practical solutions: Italy is the country with the lowest birth-rate in Europe. ... Because the older generation easily outnumbers the younger generation in elections, the political parties are prolonging the country's agony. ... No matter how many Italians abstain from voting out of anger and desperation this weekend, and no matter which of the parties takes the lead in all the confusion, sociologist [Alessandro ] Rosino already knows who will win: the average age of the new parliamentarians will be at least 53. The marginalisation of the young, which is tantamount to social suicide, will therefore no doubt continue."
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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Italy
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