The Vacuum of Leadership

Considering the inability of the Congress to formulate reasonable policy and a partisanship which derails any attempt at compromise and a population that disdain our political leadership and questions its legitimacy, we look to Europe and what do we see?

http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/blog/2692481-democracy-shrinking

Is Democracy Shrinking?

With national leaders apparently unable to act, such institutions as the European Central Bank, the German constitutional court, and the European Court of Justice are playing an increasingly influential role in European affairs. French political analyst Antoine Vauchez argues that their intervention amounts to a bending of the rules of democracy which urgently needs to be addressed.

Is there any better illustration of the current paradox of European democracy than the fact that its fate hangs in the balance in the decisions of the board of the European Central Bank and the rulings of the German constitutional court? European political leaders have become so convinced of their lack of legitimacy and their inability to win the “battle of credibility” that opposes sovereign states and the markets, they are voluntarily giving up their room for manoeuvre to “independent” institutions and automatic penalties (the notorious fiscal compact), thereby enabling judges (both national and European ) and central bankers to dominate the daily conduct of European affairs...

 We may have to face up to a failure of present democratic institutions. Our ancestors have done so, and they succeeded. It is not the end of the world.
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