Hoping to capitalize on the growing wave of outrage against the globalist European establishment, radical left-wing internationalists are pushing a new “anti-establishment” plan that would further empower the increasingly totalitarian European Union. Under the guise of making the EU super-state “democratic,” the new campaign, dubbed the “Democracy in Europe Movement 2025” (DiEM25), hopes to give the appearance of legitimacy to Brussels’ growing power grabs. Among other goals to be achieved by 2025, the effort seeks to grant “sovereignty” to the EU and impose a full-blown Constitution on the formerly sovereign nations while pretending to give the public a say in how it is ruled.
The effort is also unabashedly from the fringe ultra-left. It seems that, not satisfied to simply help bankrupt and destroy Greece with Big Government extremism, former Greek Finance Minister and DiEM25 boss Yanis Varoufakis (shown), a self-styled “erratic Marxist,” now wants to do the same to the entire EU. Unsurprisingly, the effort has been receiving widespread attention and support, even from the same “establishment” it purports to oppose. If the campaign succeeds, despite its claims to being “democratic,” Europeans can look forward to even more authoritarianism coming out of Brussels — the EU capital where the overwhelming majority of the laws governing the continent are now concocted, behind closed doors, rather than at the national level by elected parliaments.
{modulepos inner_text_ad}
In fairness, much of Varoufakis’ and DiEM25’s criticism of the perpetually expanding regime in Brussels is right on target. From blasting the unaccountable nature of the EU bureaucracy to exposing the authoritarian ambitions of its founders, the radical Greek “economics professor” is tapping into seething anger across Europe about the out-of-control monster that now rules the continent with virtually no accountability. It is often said in Europe that if the EU were to apply to join itself, it would be rejected due to its lack of “democracy.” Then-Czech President Vaclav Klaus even warned in 2012 that the EU’s rulers, using deception, were on the verge of destroying self-government and national sovereignty across the continent. “The EU should move in an opposite direction,” he said at the time.
Varoufakis and his backers hope to exploit the sense of outrage over the EU’s lack of public legitimacy to pursue their own agenda. “Europe will be democratized or it will disintegrate!” the Big Government-loving Greek politician exclaimed at the unveiling of his campaign in Berlin, Germany, last month. Tellingly, he was standing alongside representatives of Germany’s Die Linke (The Left) party, successors to the murderous party that once ruled Communist “Democratic” East Germany, and other totalitarian-minded extremists from across Europe. Describing his movement’s supporters as “a broad coalition of radical democrats,” Varoufakis vowed to bring “democracy” to what he called the “anti-democratic” EU.
In a “manifesto” posted online, the DiEM25 backers outlined their agenda for Europe and denounced its current rulers — many of whom were actually involved with the communist regimes of Eastern Europe. “For all their concerns with global competitiveness, migration and terrorism, only one prospect truly terrifies the Powers of Europe: Democracy!” claims the “manifesto,” released last month by DiEM21 as Varoufakis was penning opinion columns for establishment-controlled media outlets across the continent. “They speak in democracy’s name but only to deny, exorcise and suppress it in practice. They seek to co-opt, evade, corrupt, mystify, usurp and manipulate democracy in order to break its energy and arrest its possibilities.”
The manifesto goes on to target all of the establishment’s organs — the “bailed out bankers,” for example, and the politicians that appeal to freedom only to “betray their most basic principles when in government.” It also attacks the “media moguls” and their fear-mongering for power and profit, the governments that “fuel inequality,” and the “corporations in cahoots with secretive public agencies investing in the same fear to promote secrecy and a culture of surveillance that bend public opinion to their will.” “A confederacy of myopic politicians, economically naïve officials and financially incompetent ‘experts’ submit slavishly to the edicts of financial and industrial conglomerates, alienating Europeans and stirring up a dangerous anti-European backlash,” the manifesto continues, lambasting nationalism, (non-Marxist) extremism, and more.
In one of his columns promoting the effort, Varoufakis used fiery rhetoric to denounce the “establishment,” too. “As with all cartel managers, the EU technocrats treated genuine pan-European democracy as a threat,” he wrote. “Patiently, methodically, a process of de-politicizing decision-making was put in place. National politicians were rewarded handsomely for their acquiescence, while anyone opposed to the cartel’s technocratic approach was labeled ‘un-European’ and treated as an outsider. Thus, although European countries remained democratic, the EU institutions, where sovereignty over crucial decisions was transferred, have remained democracy-free.”
He also denounces what he calls “authoritarianism” among Europe’s rulers. “Handing Europe’s money and politics to a cartel administration did not only spell the end of European democracy; it has also fueled a vicious cycle of authoritarianism and poor economic results,” he said, echoing widespread concerns across Europe about the increasing authoritarianism of the Brussels bureaucracy. “The more Europe’s establishment chokes off democracy, the less legitimate its political authority becomes. That leads European leaders to double down on authoritarianism in order to stick to their failed policies when recessionary economic forces strengthen. This is why Europe is the world’s only economy that has failed to recover since 2008.”
Despite the anti-establishment rhetoric, though, the DiEM25 agenda is in fact more of the same globalism and Big Government pushed by the establishment. The first dead give away is the fact that one of the key articles promoting the scheme was published by the George Soros-backed establishment propaganda outlet dubbed Project Syndicate, which regularly publishes screeds by establishment globalists demanding everything from a global tax regime to population control and a Middle East Union. The column was authored by DiEM25 boss Varoufakis. Even the phony “criticism” of the machinations highlighted by some of the establishment press was geared toward making Varoufakis seem like some sort of populist folk hero rather than a would-be totalitarian.
Also revealing about the true agenda is the language it uses, and the deception employed. “The European Union was an exceptional achievement, bringing together in peace European peoples,” claims Varoufakis after denouncing the use of lies and trickery of authoritarians to foist the scheme on the peoples of Europe. The manifesto also claims the EU helped show “the world how peace and solidarity may be snatched from the jaws of centuries-long conflict and bigotry.” Of course, surrendering self-government and national sovereignty are not necessary to have peace, as heavily armed and independent Switzerland, at the heart of Europe, continues to demonstrate following centuries of peace. But for the establishment, the false notion that crushing self-government and nationhood brought about peace is key to imposing regional governments on peoples from Africa and Latin America to Eurasia and beyond.
Despite some lip service about “respecting” national sovereignty and returning some powers to national parliaments, it is also clear that crushing what little national sovereignty remains in Europe is at the top of DiEM25’s agenda. “Our medium-term goal is to convene a constitutional assembly where Europeans will deliberate on how to bring forth, by 2025, a full-fledged European democracy, featuring a sovereign parliament,” Varoufakis admitted, ignoring the fact that eurocrats already imposed their constitution on Europe, even after it was rejected by voters, by renaming it the “Lisbon Treaty.” The manifesto also calls for “an internationalist strategy toward a pan-European coalition for democratizing Europe.”
Among other positions, Varoufakis also demands deeper “integration,” suggesting that banking in Europe should work more like it does in the United States, where people would not care where the bank with their deposits was domiciled. He also makes clear that he wants Europe — already on the brink due to the “refugee crisis” and the influx of millions of Middle Eastern immigrants — to open its borders with the Third World even wider. Climate alarmism, Big Government, and a war on energy are also key. “No European people can grow without basic goods for its weakest citizens, human development, ecological balance and a determination to become fossil-fuel free in a world that changes its ways — not the planet’s climate,” states the manifesto.
While blasting fear-mongering, Varoufakis also warned his supporters that if his dream of a Marxist-inspired “democratic” super-state fails to materialize, Europe could return to a “post-modern version of the 1930s.” “Two dreadful options dominate: Retreat into the cocoon of our nation-states or surrender to the Brussels democracy-free zone,” the manifesto argues. “There must be another course. And there is! It is the one official ‘Europe’ resists with every sinew of its authoritarian mind-set: A surge of democracy!”
Of course, what Europeans need is not more centralization of power or even more “democracy.” Indeed, many of America’s founders openly abhorred the mob rule of “democracy” with its purported power to usurp liberty and property, preferring instead the rule of law and the guarantees for individual God-given liberties protected by a constitutional republic. What is needed in Europe is everything the establishment opposes: a return to self-government, individual liberty, national sovereignty, decentralization, and the continent’s Christian roots. None of those goals are on the DiEM25’s agenda. As such, its mantle of “anti-establishment” is a dangerous fraud.
Photo of Yanis Varoufakis: AP Images
Alex Newman, a foreign correspondent for The New American, is normally based in Europe. Follow him on Twitter @ALEXNEWMAN_JOU. He can be reached at [email protected]
Related articles:
The EU: Regionalization Trumps Sovereignty
“Pan-European” Protests Turn Violent While Advancing Globalism
Radical Greek Socialists Rise to Power as EU Crisis Grows
EU in Final Phase of Destroying Democracy, Czech President Warns
Lisbon Treaty Builds EU Super-state
EU Exploits Refugees to Usurp More Power, Build Armed Force
In African Union, Globalist Agenda Becomes Clear
EU “Police” Will Censor Internet to Fight “Extremism”
German President Attacks “Dangerous” Swiss Self-Government
Globalist Henry Kissinger Outlines “New World Order”
Germany’s Merkel Calls for EU Veto Power Over National Budgets
Regional Currency Plots Advance in Eurasia and South America
