If this is European democracy in action as we've heard this morning I suggest we have a rethink. We're told that as a result of the European elections Mr Juncker here is the nominee. Well I can tell you that absolutely nobody in the United Kingdom knew that when they voted in the European election it had anything to do with the next nominee. And the truth of it is your voters actually in your countries didn't realise what this process was. Mr Juncker's name did not appear on any single ballot paper. And the whole thing has been the most extraordinary stitch-up. The loser, Mr Schulz, gets the consolation prize of being an unprecedented second-term president in the parliament. It's all just a pretence that we're increasing democracy.
Now of course I'll be told, 'ah yes, but hang on a second - the European Parliament, the elected bit of the European institution, did actually have a say and did decide whether Mr Juncker was to become Commission President or not.
Well let's just have a think about the process we're about to engage in. We're all going to be asked to vote and we've got one candidate to vote for. It's like the good old Soviet times, isn't it. Surely democracy means you get rather more of a choice than one.
But I think far worse than that, it is going to be a secret ballot. You really couldn't invent it could you. Hard on the heels of a European election our voters are not going to know how any of us have voted. I would say that you, Mr Schulz, as president of this parliament, the parliament shouldn't vote in secret. The whole point of being publicly elected representatives is we should be held accountable for our actions to our own voters and to be asked to vote in secret I think is a huge insult to voters.
Now I would have thought after the huge advances in the eurosceptic vote there might have been a rethink somewhere in Brussels but clearly that was not to be. Mr Cameron had a brief go and tried to oppose your candidacy but he was busy succeeding with reshuffles in Britain, but failing with reshuffles here and Mrs Merkel of course crushed him because what the German chancellor says goes in the modern Europe.
So what of the nominee? Well, on the plus side, Mr Juncker you are a sociable cove with a much better sense of humour than most people I've met in Brussels. And there's no question that you are a political operator, and you even managed to - over the last couple of weeks, as you've gone round the political groups - change the mood music a bit. You've said that you don't believe in a United States of Europe, you don't believe in a common European identity. But I have to say I didn't believe a word of it. And today you've proven that actually you're stuck back with the ideas of the old Europe. You talked about monsieur Delors being a hero of yours. Well, I can understand that from your perspective. But you also talked about mr Miterrand and Mr Kohl as being heroes of yours. I would have thought, a wartime collaborator and somebody who left German politics under a huge cloud of a massive party funding scandal should not be the kind of people that we should stand up as great models of virtue in modern Europe today.
You talked about the need for a common foreign policy and security policy. You talked about the need for a common energy policy. What is clear is you are going to carry on with the process of the centralisation of powers. Which is not surprising, because for twenty years you've been a key player in this whole process which frankly has treated democracy with deliberate contempt.
I think the best example is your quote about the French referendum on the [EU] constitution where you said, "if it's a Yes we will say 'on we go' and if it's a No we will say 'we continue'."
How's that? How's that for belief in democracy?
And your dedication to the project is - 'well it's unchalable' - I mean, you've said before that when it becomes serious you have to lie. So in many ways I suppose you are the perfect candidate for a lot of people in this House and I've no doubt that you will get the nomination.
But we are being asked to vote for the ultimate Brussels insider. Somebody who has always operated with dark backroom deals and stitch-ups and I have to say that our group overwhelmingly will vote No. We don't want business as usual, we want real change.
And you said at the end of your speech: 'This is not the time for a revolution'. I put it to you, there has already been a revolution. There's effectively been a coup d'etat on nation state democracies without people realising what was being done to them. And these elections - the eurosceptics may not yet have a majority in this House, but please don't think we're over because the vast majority of European people don't want a European State, don't want the European Commission to be the executive, don't want that flag, and don't want that anthem.
So you'll get elected and I will enjoy doing battle over the course of the next year or two.
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