Sorry, I am not a candidate this time

Thanks for all encouragement. I am sorry to say but I am not running as candidate myself in these EP elections. My party fights for its only seat in the liberal group. Beeing a representative for the swedish speaking minority in Finland, succeeding with this is important. I am myself in the national parliament for my fourth term. We fight for a europe that is diverse both politically and culturally. Politicians talk about multicultural Europe but it is is much more than the different nations together. One issue that is much to little addressed is the Roma question, both in new and old EU countries. But if my candidate will become a MEP I will try to get him blogging too!

Comments

[Bevonovo]

What is "the Roma question"? Thanks.

[hugh macleod]

Hi Eva , welcome to the blogosphere =)

As European politics gets less local, and more "European", I see the danger of politicians becoming less accountable to their constituents.

A good example would be the system of proportional representation the British Liberal Democrats are suggesting. Yes, to have a national parliament more demographically representative of the voting public is a good thing, but the downside is that a lot of constiuencies would have MPs representing them that they simply did not vote for. The parliament would be more "demographically correct" nationally, but it would be locally more unrepresentative. And local representation is a cornerstone of democracy.

To quote Jefferson: "Governemnts derive their just powers from the consent of the governed" etc.

I think constitutional erosion is already happening in the UK under Blair.

As the European governemnt grows, what checks and balances would you suggest to safeguard the consent of the governed?

[Julio]

Did your candidate make it to the EP?