FALSE POSITIVE:

Just Say 'Non' (Anne Applebaum, June 1, 2005, Washington Post)

[O]ne of the most remarkable characteristics of the European Union is the ability of its leaders to keep building their institutions and expanding their power, not only ignoring but self-righteously ignoring European voters. In the months before its adoption, when opinion polls showed that most Germans were also opposed to a single European currency, I asked a German politician whether this bothered him. No, he said: The job of a politician is to explain to the people what is good for them, not the other way around.

But the democratic deficit was built into the European project from the beginning, and it has grown along with Europe's institutions. For Europe is not, in fact, a nation; the European Commission is not, in fact, a sovereign government; and the European parliament actually has rather narrow powers and limited legitimacy. Nevertheless, the European Union writes more European law every year and influences a wider range of policies, from environmental regulation to arts subsidies to the length of the workweek. As a result, Europe's national parliaments are less important than they used to be, and national debates matter less too. Why argue about something you can't influence?

So far, the popular response to this erosion of democracy -- which has coincided with an economic slowdown in much of Europe, as well as a wave of North African and Eastern European immigration -- has been an anguished and inchoate series of "anti-establishment" protest votes. In no particular order, I would count among these the surprise second-place showing of Jean-Marie Le Pen in the last French presidential election; the success of the maverick Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, before his assassination; the unexpected support for the Austrian anti-immigration politician Joerg Haider; the growing numbers of Belgians who vote for a Flemish nationalist party that could theoretically divide their country; and of course, the anti-constitutional campaigners in France and the Netherlands.

Although all of these politicians have had different agendas, they shared a common Euro-skepticism, as well as a common nationalism -- or a common patriotism, if you want to be more positive about it.

No, nationalism and statism cover it.

MORE:
2 'No' Votes in Europe: The Anger Spreads (RICHARD BERNSTEIN, 6/02/05, NY Times)

Some are calling it a divorce; others, a disenchantment. Whatever you call it, the French "non" on Sunday and the Dutch "nee" on Wednesday have clearly left the European Union's proposed constitution a dead letter for now, frustrating the efforts of Europe's leaders to move to the next stage of integration.

The impasse could stall efforts to develop common foreign policies and push the euro, a potent symbol of unification, into a downward spiral.

But there is something at stake here far broader than the constitution itself, which the Dutch rejected emphatically on Wednesday, 61.6 percent to 38.4 percent, according to unofficial results.

There is a disaffection, perhaps even a rebellion, against the political elites in France, Germany and Italy.

The governing parties of the left and the right are saying the same things to their people: that painful, free-market economic reforms are the only path toward rejuvenation, more jobs, better futures. And the people, who have come to equate the idea of an expanded Europe with a challenge to cradle-to-grave social protections, are giving the same answer: We don't believe you.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 2, 2005 10:46 AM