Sol Invictus
11-29-2009, 03:32 PM
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/6616673/EU-appointments-have-as-much-democratic-legitimacy-as-the-Politburo.html
Published: 12:02AM GMT 21 Nov 2009
The EU's way of selecting its president and foreign minister leaves British voters bemused, disenfranchised and angry
SIR – We have just seen (report, November 20) the appointment of an unelected member of the House of Lords to an unelected position in the EU as High Representative for Foreign Affairs, based on a treaty the British people were not allowed to vote on.
Politicians defending this claim say that it is a legitimate act, as the appointment is made by 27 elected heads of government.
Perhaps it is timely to remind them that the number is in fact 26, as no one has ever had the opportunity to cast a vote for Gordon Brown as Prime Minister of this country, either within the Labour Party, or at a general election.
I, for one, had the same feeling yesterday morning as in the days of the announcement of a new Soviet Leader by the Politburo.
Dr Jason Price
Barford, Warwickshire
SIR – Here is a novel way of deciding who should be the president of the European Union: let there be an election and let the people decide.
Peter Howell
Malmesbury, Wiltshire
SIR – So two people I've never heard of and cannot vote for are now meant to represent me in some way. What joy.
Steve Baldock
Handcross, West Sussex
SIR – My hearty congratulations to the new EU President Wotsisname and Foreign Secretary Thingy.
Roy S. Goodman
Ashford, Kent
SIR – Does "Cathy Ashton" owe her sudden promotion to a simple phonetic confusion? Perhaps the name actually phoned through to Brussels at the last minute was that of Paddy Ashdown – an eminently suitable candidate.
This might explain how Britain's Minister for Paperclips has been catapulted into a key position in global politics.
Angus McGeoch
Farnborough, Oxfordshire
SIR – Is it coincidence that an anagram of Herman van Rompuy is "unproven, may harm"?
David Drysdale
Woking, Surrey
SIR – Now we know the point of Belgium: they are renowned for their puppets.
G. J. Emery
Standlake, Oxfordshire
SIR – Why complain? Can't we just rejoice that Tony Blair didn't get the job?
Robin Lane
Devizes, Wiltshire
SIR – Now that Mr Blair isn't president, please may we have our rebate back?
Alec Morris
Durley, Hampshire
Published: 12:02AM GMT 21 Nov 2009
The EU's way of selecting its president and foreign minister leaves British voters bemused, disenfranchised and angry
SIR – We have just seen (report, November 20) the appointment of an unelected member of the House of Lords to an unelected position in the EU as High Representative for Foreign Affairs, based on a treaty the British people were not allowed to vote on.
Politicians defending this claim say that it is a legitimate act, as the appointment is made by 27 elected heads of government.
Perhaps it is timely to remind them that the number is in fact 26, as no one has ever had the opportunity to cast a vote for Gordon Brown as Prime Minister of this country, either within the Labour Party, or at a general election.
I, for one, had the same feeling yesterday morning as in the days of the announcement of a new Soviet Leader by the Politburo.
Dr Jason Price
Barford, Warwickshire
SIR – Here is a novel way of deciding who should be the president of the European Union: let there be an election and let the people decide.
Peter Howell
Malmesbury, Wiltshire
SIR – So two people I've never heard of and cannot vote for are now meant to represent me in some way. What joy.
Steve Baldock
Handcross, West Sussex
SIR – My hearty congratulations to the new EU President Wotsisname and Foreign Secretary Thingy.
Roy S. Goodman
Ashford, Kent
SIR – Does "Cathy Ashton" owe her sudden promotion to a simple phonetic confusion? Perhaps the name actually phoned through to Brussels at the last minute was that of Paddy Ashdown – an eminently suitable candidate.
This might explain how Britain's Minister for Paperclips has been catapulted into a key position in global politics.
Angus McGeoch
Farnborough, Oxfordshire
SIR – Is it coincidence that an anagram of Herman van Rompuy is "unproven, may harm"?
David Drysdale
Woking, Surrey
SIR – Now we know the point of Belgium: they are renowned for their puppets.
G. J. Emery
Standlake, Oxfordshire
SIR – Why complain? Can't we just rejoice that Tony Blair didn't get the job?
Robin Lane
Devizes, Wiltshire
SIR – Now that Mr Blair isn't president, please may we have our rebate back?
Alec Morris
Durley, Hampshire