Month: June 2005

Eurobunga: Lex celebrates the outcomes of the French and Dutch referenda.

Oh man, this is so great: “…the constitution failed by a vote of 63 percent to 37 percent…” “…Turnout was 62 percent, far exceeding even the most optimistic expectations …” “…the high turnout and the decisive margin left no room for the Dutch parliament to turn its back on the people’s verdict…”

The spirit of William the Silent lives on! Or, the Dutch determination to keep their marijuana, prostitutes and euthanasia. But, whatever the motivation, it is their country to be run as they see fit, and bully for them for rejecting the 66,000 word abomination.

I think I am going to go out and buy some Dutch beer this weekend. (Anyone know which of these is good?)

UPDATE: It just occurred to me that this is one more instance of the people of a country rising up and peacefully defying their unelected masters. So, the Tulip Revolution belongs in the same category as the Orange Revolution, the Rose Revolution, etc. Not sure what to call what happened in France a few days ago … . Has Bush’s policy of spreading democracy started a global wave of democratization so big it is now even sloshing into Europe? Ha, how ironic, and how totally cool, if so.

This piece from Der Spiegel depicts the ominous rise of “nazism” amongst German teenagers. One breathless passage tells us “Nazi culture has become so omnipresent in the daily lives of some young people that they use Adolf Hitler’s voice as their cell phone ring tone and Nazi symbols as their screen savers.” Note that “some”. How many? Five thousand? Five hundred? Five? This is not reporting, it is fear-mongering. It is funny, too that the supposedly Nazi kids are not organizing themselves into terrorist gangs, but listen to “right wing” rock bands and live in fear of the gangs which control the streets of their towns. Pathetic, really. Reading a little past the surface it is apparent that the German government, in typical modern leftist fashion, shies away from law-enforcement and refuses to provide physical security and pretends there is no problem. It is also apparent that the baby-boom era German parents are too PC to respond to the criminality that is becoming pervasive in Germany, and would rather have their kids get beat up than possibly think a racist thought. Also, these ultra-permissive parents will let their kids do anything, in typical Euro post-Christian fashion. So rebellious kids have found something to rebel with — wear boots or a jacket which is associated with “right wing politics”.

Is it bad that some German kids are acting nostalgic for the Third Reich? To the extent they really are, yes, of course.

But the rise of Le Pen, Haider and Fortuyn — and the recent French NON — all show the same thing. If the political rulers in the mainstream parties of Europe maintain a conspiracy of silence about issues that actually concern people, especially public safety, then this will open up opportunities for politicians and movements which would otherwise be on the “fringe”. This is yet another element of Europe’s “democratic deficit”.

(Via Arts and Letters Daily.)