Papandreou Wants More International and Direct Democracy

In this TED Talk George Papandreou argues that global markets are too powerful for national democracies to control. He argues for more European democracy, including more referendums and citizens' juries:
"Where our common identity is democracy, where our education is through participation, and where participation builds trust and solidarity rather than exclusion and xenophobia. Europe of and by the people, a Europe, an experiment in deepening and widening democracy beyond borders."
Interactive Democracy could be scaled to the European level. And exactly the same infrastructure would work in your local village. It facilitates more participation than a randomly selected citizens' jury, but could also work alongside it if that were preferred.

Prisoners' Votes

David Cameron conceded that there was nothing he could do to halt the European Court ruling that demands that British prisoners be given the right to vote. (More here from The Telegraph) Obviously prisoners forfeit some rights - for example their freedom - when they are convicted of a crime, but the courts ruled that the right to vote should remain.

It is interesting to note that our elected leader is powerless to effect the decision made by the higher democratic power in Europe, even though the MEP collective is only partly elected by British citizens and remote from them. And it is interesting to consider how prisoners may want to vote en bloc to achieve benefits for themselves. This may be even more problematic in Interactive Democracy if the general public, busy and preoccupied as they may be, don't consider votes instigated by "prisoner unions", who have all the time in the world to become involved. This may be good or bad, but, regardless, with ID the majority can change the system and over ride European diktats. That's democracy!

Catherine Ashton

Catherine Ashton has become the first High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union (EU). Although elected by MEPs she is a civil servant who has not suffered election by the people.

To my mind the EU seems distant from UK voters, to the detriment of democracy, and having a civil servant as a High Representative seems to put even greater distance between those in power and the electorate. Maybe Interactive Democracy could be used to allow EU citizens to vote directly on appointments and policies.

These reports, from the BBC and the Telegraph, show a fall in turn out in EU elections from 63.0% in 1979 to 45.7% in 2004.

European Democracy

Interactive Democracy may have an impact on EU policy, even if it is only implemented in Britain. Using ID, British policy on Europe may be effected directly by the electorate (as with any other issue) by influencing the UK member of the Council of Ministers. The system may also be used to petition MEPs to raise issues in the European Parliament. Of course an EU referendum would be easily facilitated by ID.

EU political structures

MEP Constituancies