To further blemish his already fading legacy, the leaving ECB President has proposed a fiscal union in an FT interview. Sunday’s FT Exclusive: “European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has thrown his weight behind French president Emmanuel Macron’s call for fiscal transfers between eurozone member states to bolster the long-term future of the single currency.”
His policy of negative interest rates is already causing an implicit and informal wealth transfer from North to South Europe. Northern European banks – and possibly their clients – must pay interest on savings deposits. Southern European banks and their clients still receive interest. A fiscal union would make such a wealth transfer deliberate and formal.
A further European integration is – perhaps – inevitable. Considering the present EU voting structure, a European Electoral College could then easily emerge. Although European countries mostly have representative democracies, EU voting is not based on its citizens numbers. To some extent, EU voting resembles the American Electoral College system.
Since 2000, US presidential elections are revealing increasing and enormous differences between the unofficial US popular vote, and the official Electoral College results (Wiki). This difference has also allowed for the election of the 45th US President, an ignorant erratic bully.
If the American or European popular vote would elect an ignorant erratic bully as its President then we must accept such an outcome and live with the consequences of our choices. The American majority vote did not elect its 45th US President and must still live with the increasingly nasty and vile consequences.
A European Electoral College could – theoretically at least – result in someone like Boris Johnson. Today, that thought might seem far fetched. The United States of America once thought the same about Trump. In 2016, Bill urged Hillary to campaign in the sparsely populated Electoral College states (my 2016 blog). She wouldn’t listen and is still a sore loser until today.
The Northern European countries must prevent the de facto emerging of a European Electoral College. Adopting the outcome of the European popular vote in exchange for allowing a European fiscal union makes (perfect) sense. Both proposals would be highly unacceptable on a stand-alone basis. Combined, they might provide a win-win situation and a break-through.
The Americans, Chinese and Russians would love to see an end of the European project as it’s a major threat to their Superpower aspirations. To them, the outgoing ECB President’s proposal is a toxic gift. However, toxic gifts need an antidote. Amazing things might then happen.
Breakthru (1989) by Queen
artists, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2
If I could only reach you
If I could make you smile
If I could only reach you
That would really be a breakthru
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless stated otherwise
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