European crisis of representation, Germany's dilemma on banning the AfD and Polish infrastructural projects caught in polarization
It has become a truism to say that we have been living in tough and challenging times, and some speak even of a permanent multi-crisis that has started at the beginning of the century. In such times, citizens expect their leadership to create and provide policies that would allow them not to fall into poverty, to offer security and certitude for tomorrow. These expectations seem largely unfulfilled in a number of European countries, and also in the European Union as a whole. Apart from an economic crisis and a crisis of foreign policy, the EU is suffering from a crisis of representation, writes Wojciech Albert Łobodziński.
The EU is a community based on competitiveness and markets rather than on solidarity, but sometimes social Europe seems somewhat closer. One of such moments happened on 11 March, when the platform workers directive was accepted at the very last moment. Leila Chaibi, a Left MEP who fought with perseverance for gig workers’ rights, told us more about how the platform lobbies tried to stop the directive with all possible means.
The interview is available in both audio, video and transcribed versions.
“I had the opportunity to be in Romania, in Bucharest, just when Iohannis was elected for his first term in 2014. His victory was the result of an unprecedented mobilisation. I remember the jubilant crowds in the centre of Bucharest when he won, with the slogans “A different kind of politician” and “Romania of a job well done”. He used the capital of being ethnic German and Germans having a good name in Romania. What happened next was described by many people in Romania as a disappointment. There is criticism that during his time corruption increased significantly. There is criticism that he simply did nothing substantial as a political initiative. There is criticism that he is not good at communication. As a result of the sum of many grievances, his approval rating is now quite low”. In the year of presidential (and not only) elections in Romania, Vladimir Mitev comments on the current president Klaus Iohannis, his relations with Western European politicians and his legacy in Romanian politics.
“Every February, the past reemerges out of the everyday worries of Bulgarian society. Emotions run high amidst the Day of Remembrance and Respect to the Victims of the Bulgarian Communist regime, the annual commemoration of Vasil Levski, the national hero hanged by the Ottomans on 18 February 1873, the “Lukovmarsh” and the anti-fascist protests in Sofia. Rhetorical manipulation and misuse of history influence all these events and, in turn, polarise the public sphere in the wake of institutional standoff”. Francesco Trupia, Poland-based political scientist and an observant commentator of social life in different states of the Balkans, comments on Bulgaria’s struggles with memory politics, monuments and democratic debate.
Should Poland abandon huge infrastructure projects just because they were elaborated by the previous government, a staunch opponent of the current leaders? Or is Donald Tusk’s team right to say that ideas such as a giant central airport only served to feed national pride and had no chance to be sustainable? Wojciech Albert Łobodziński introduces one of the hottest political debates in Poland, touching more issues than the usual polarization between ‘traditional’ and ‘European’ or ‘authoritarianism’ and ‘liberal democracy’.
“Many parliamentarians are convinced that the AfD constantly violates the principle of human dignity, which is a cornerstone of Germany’s liberal democratic basic order. They feel that the state has a duty to take action against this. What exactly all this means has been rather unclear. After all, it has been a very long time since Germany’s supreme court banned a political party”. Should the far right Alternative for Germany, a party with growing popularity and extreme views on social issues such as migration, be legally banned? Thomas Klikauer and Danny Antonelli sum up the argumentation in another hot political debate, this time, a German one.