Thursday, February 07, 2008
Number 397 is me - are you with this against Blair Presidency??
The online petition opposing the appointment of one Anthony Charles Lynton Blair as President of the EU has 3770 signatures as at 14.04 on Thursday 7th February.
As the petition says in various languages (Full English version for signing here… get access to various language versions via sidebar here):
Do you agree???
As the petition says in various languages (Full English version for signing here… get access to various language versions via sidebar here):
Nous, citoyens européens de toutes origines et de toutes tendances souhaitons exprimer notre totale opposition à la nomination de Tony Blair à la présidence du Conseil de l'Union Européenne.
.....Seit einiger Zeit offenbaren immer hartnäckigere Meldungen den Wunsch mancher, dass Tony Blair zum ersten Präsidenten des Europäischen Rates ernannt wird. Diese Ernennung, sollte sie stattfinden, stünde in krassem Widerspruch zu den Werten des europäischen Projekts....
Pažeisdamas tarptautinius įstatymus, Tony Blair'as įtraukė savo šalį į Irako karą, kuriam prieštaravo Europos piliečių didžioji dauguma. Šis karas pareikalavo šimtus tūkstančius aukų ir privertė persikelti milijonus pabėgėlių.
Que é um factor maior na actual desestabilização profunda do Médio Oriente e que enfraqueceu a segurança mundial. De modo a conduzir o seu país à guerra, Blair fez uso sistemático de provas forjadas e de manipulação da informação. O seu papel na guerra do Iraque pesaria fortemente sobre a imagem da União no mundo, caso fosse eleito presidente.
The steps taken by Tony Blair's government, and his complicity with the Bush administration in the illegal programme of "extraordinary renditions", have led to an unprecedented decline in civil liberties. This is in contradiction with the terms of the European Convention of Human Rights, which is an integral part of the treaty.
Επιπλέον, μοιάζει αδιανόητο πως πρώτος Πρόεδρος του Συμβουλίου της ΕΕ θα είναι ο πρώην επικεφαλής μιας κυβέρνησης που έχει κρατήσει την χώρα της έξω από δύο βασικά στοιχεία της οικοδόμησης της Ευρώπης: τον χώρο των ελεύθερων μετακινήσεων Σένγκεν και την ζώνη του Ευρώ.
Cuando una de las prioridades de las instituciones europeas es reconectar con sus cuidadanos, creemos que es esencial que el Presidente del Consejo Europeo sea una persona con la que una mayoría de los ciudadanos se puedan identificar, más que alguien rechazado por una mayoría. Por tanto, declaramos nuestra total oposición a esta nominación.
Do you agree???
Labels: Blair, European Union, presidency
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Friday, June 29, 2007
A Presidency is born???
As we await the ‘Word From Gordon On High’ on ‘constitutional initiatives’ a thought on the possible road to a Presidency.
The constitutional convention in the UK is that Ministers of the Crown (however junior) have to be Members of Parliament, either of the Commons or the Lords. In the past when outsiders have been parachuted into government they were given peerages to regularise their positions.
This means that ministers have a certain connection to Party, and a political position separate from their ministerial office. They are also questionable by their own house.
In presidential systems (in the USA and in the French Hybrid) the Presidents are at liberty to appoint people to any post of any persuasion they chose – within the constraints of the power balance. In the USA it is almost conventional for a President of one party to appoint at least one cabinet minister affiliated to the other party.
In the flood of appointments to Team Gordon a number of non-parliamentarians have been tagged with posts entitled ‘Minister’ and so far nothing mentioned about entering the Lords or fighting by-elections. There has however been talk of alternative fora for accountability.
In many ways Blair ran a Presidency rather than a Premiership, and was only really constrained by the internal dynamics of Browns treasury kingdom. Brown will of course make sure that nothing so effective will challenge him in the Labour ministerial tribe. What are the constraints on him emphasising the Presidential trend in UK politics?
In all this ‘talent show’ recruitment are we seeing the final demise of Parliament in day to day politics ( rather on the lines of the London assembly in relation to the Mayor) or will there be a development of effective scrutiny over non-parliamentary ministers?
I think we need to keep very careful watch over this development.
The constitutional convention in the UK is that Ministers of the Crown (however junior) have to be Members of Parliament, either of the Commons or the Lords. In the past when outsiders have been parachuted into government they were given peerages to regularise their positions.
This means that ministers have a certain connection to Party, and a political position separate from their ministerial office. They are also questionable by their own house.
In presidential systems (in the USA and in the French Hybrid) the Presidents are at liberty to appoint people to any post of any persuasion they chose – within the constraints of the power balance. In the USA it is almost conventional for a President of one party to appoint at least one cabinet minister affiliated to the other party.
In the flood of appointments to Team Gordon a number of non-parliamentarians have been tagged with posts entitled ‘Minister’ and so far nothing mentioned about entering the Lords or fighting by-elections. There has however been talk of alternative fora for accountability.
In many ways Blair ran a Presidency rather than a Premiership, and was only really constrained by the internal dynamics of Browns treasury kingdom. Brown will of course make sure that nothing so effective will challenge him in the Labour ministerial tribe. What are the constraints on him emphasising the Presidential trend in UK politics?
In all this ‘talent show’ recruitment are we seeing the final demise of Parliament in day to day politics ( rather on the lines of the London assembly in relation to the Mayor) or will there be a development of effective scrutiny over non-parliamentary ministers?
I think we need to keep very careful watch over this development.
Labels: Brown, constitution, presidency
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