We both agree that Nigel Farage is a complete moron.
Perhaps we should put a damp rag like the one he mentions in his mouth next time he opens it?
Nigel Farage, you’re an disgrace to yourself. The European parliament is no place for personal attacks, and you aren’t fit to carry the title Member of the European Parliament. Please keep the honour to yourself and resign.
Every sensible person outside of the U.K. thinks you should. Even the Euro skeptics do. You’re an embarrassment for your country and its culture, so I hope for the people in the U.K. that they’ll kick you out of politics.
I fear you’re just playing the populist card, and that you’ll even get votes for this from other morons.
Ashton is a shame too… How will Europe be credible while we get truly incompetent persons at such a high responsability level?
I’m british, and I don’t know more about the EU president than I do about this UKIP fool. So this nut job doesn’t speak for me, and he fits his own description far better than Van Rumpy..
Philip,
“Every sensible person outside of the U.K. thinks you should.”
How do you know this? I assure you that I personally know many that doesn’t.
BTW. Agree that personal attacks are weak.
Regards,
Rafał
“Every sensible person outside of the U.K. thinks you should”
So does every sensible person inside the UK. Please don’t lump us all together with this psycho.
“Every sensible person outside of the U.K. thinks you should.”
So does every sensible person inside the UK. :) Please don’t lump us all together with this psycho. It’s such a shame that UKIP’s fearmongering has brought them such success.
While I dislike populists and euro skeptics like Nigel Farage I cannot say that I have a different opinion of Van Rompuy…
@Jonathan, Edd: of course, no sensible person outside of the U.K. is linking this MEP’s personal attack directly to your country or culture. He does represent it in that parliament, though.
I can understand Euro skeptics, but I refuse to understand childish behaviour like personal attacks and insults at the European parliament. No matter how domestic politics are done, you ought to have some level of decency at the European level. And I don’t think this would be accepted in the U.K.’s parliaments either.
I must add that this behaviour isn’t how I perceived the British culture. He sure is an embarrassment for it. You guys deserve better as representation in the European parliament, also for the Euro skeptic side of European representation.
Interesting.
I’m pro EU (albeit a few severe symptoms of fuckupitis) and I do belive Nigel Farage consistently highlight important issues. In fact I belive he is completly right in this case if you deduct the personal attacks (which might not be 100% objectively true).
Yes, he’s an ass. He even plays for the opposing team.
That does not change the fact that he can be right.
@Marco: As he says himself, you’ll get tired of his face within a year. Van Rompuy simply isn’t the kind of guy who seeks publicity. I disagree with quite a lot of his politics, but he’s definitely made out of quality material. And earned his respect for that in Belgium. So this MEP is just making himself look ridiculous. Especially for Belgians who know who they are talking about when it’s about Van Rompuy.
I don’t get how incompetent idiots like this Nigel Farage can possibly get a stage for nonsense like this. And I don’t get why he’s not asked to resign instantly. We really have no use for total idiots in Europe. And I hope politics and population in the U.K. will work on getting a more competent Euro skeptic to replace this embarrassing joke.
You can have disagreements with or dislike Van Rompuy all you want. But not by being a foolish child.
@pel: If he’s sometimes right, then he’d better work on not being an idiot. His attitude isn’t serving his opinions and ideas. And I don’t know how much patience the rest of Europe is supposed to have with this kind of nonsense. I vote for zero patience and no second changes. We simply have no time for this crap in Europe.
Yesterday he wasted his European political career. He should resign, and preferably immediately. After this he can’t be of any use anyway.
@ Rafał Hajdacki Says:
> > “Every sensible person outside of the U.K. thinks you should.”
> How do you know this? I assure you that I personally know many
> that doesn’t.
That’s why I wrote “sensible” person.
> BTW. Agree that personal attacks are weak.
And since you agree that personal attacks are weak, I’m sure you also agree that they have no place in the European parliament?
Then this MEP should resign from his position: If you aren’t fit for your position, which you by definition aren’t if you make catastrophic mistakes while having this level of public responsibility, then you should not represent your people at the European parliament. People who think this parliament is a joke ought to find another job. Preferably they do this as soon as possible. We don’t have time for them in Europe. Not at all.
Philip, as much as I agree with you on form, I do agree with the MEP (mr. Farage) that the current president of the EU is an embarrassment beyond proportions. I don’t know who he is, I didn’t vote for him and I certainly don’t want him. Why aren’t there elections? After all, Mr. Obama, the president of the US, was elected democratically.
The thing is, Mr van Rompuy is the President of the European Council. He is not *the* EU president. There are at least 2 also important presidents: The president of the commission (Barroso), and the president of the European Parliament.
I always find it amusing when the press tries to compare Mr van Rompuy to Obama or other presidents – that’s comparing apples and oranges, you can’t compare them, because they have very different jobs.
@ Ronald: Why aren’t there elections?
Because the majority of the prime ministers and presidents (very likely also your prime minister if you’re from an EU member state) didn’t want an elected president. The heads of government wanted a relatively powerless figure who should coordinate the meetings of the European Council. One they can appoint themselves. That’s why you can’t vote.
European democracy is very much held back by the heads of states.
As for democratic elections for these positions wasn’t Rome built in a day either. And as Oskar already said wasn’t this what the heads of member states wanted anyway. The Euro skeptics are also already whining about losing sovereignty. A directly elected president like a U.S. president would basically mean total federalization of Europe. The Euro skeptics are against what they propose themselves: a strong leader. What is it now?
The heads of the member states clearly wanted a low-key quality figure to coordinate meetings of the European Council. A person who doesn’t make any negotiation or any compromise impossible.
Van Rompuy’s methodology for that is keep low on the radar and to appear in public as if he has no strong opinions. In Belgium too he was always one of the politicians who does most behind the scenes. But a lot of it. In Belgium the media is also part of the problem for finding political solutions. Which usually aren’t created by throwing things to voting wolves who don’t understand a single thing about what is going on. But just believe whatever the first next populist idiot tells them.
I’m not saying that this is the right way, or the most democratic way. But Europe isn’t fit for the nonsense populist politics that you see in for example the United States. Every European knows that consensus between member states is important. Every European knows that pure democracy leads to populism of the lowest kind, and more than often to incompetent leaders.
Nonetheless I’d be in favor of gradually increasing the level of direct democracy. Sure. But gradually. Perhaps learn from the Swiss guys: their model of direct democracy sounds pretty good to me. Oh wait, something similar already is in the Lisbon Treaty, isn’t it? Yes it is (look both up and compare before whining, you might just be surprised by the similarity).
As always, you have puristic and pragmatic. Europe needs pragmatic step by step progress when it comes to politics. It’s an economic giant, but a military and political dwarf. That doesn’t mean that you change it into a political giant “just” by direct democracy.
I don’t know most of the Dutch representatives in the European parliament either, Ronald. They have similar amounts of power as Van Rompuy has. If not more (Neelie Kroes’s position is pretty darn important for an economic giant like Europe, isn’t it??). I trust the Netherlands that they’ve sent their best (and so far, she did exceptionally well).
Sadly the U.K. didn’t for their Euro skeptic representation. Which is why this guy is an embarrassment for their country and culture.
If anybody is interested in that one quality that Belgians are known for, finding compromises, then I think Van Rompuy’s methodology embodies that.
I do want to admit about that, that I’m sick of the Belgian politicians’ mentality that without an expensive and idiotic compromise, nothing is politically possible. That’s what has caused the political stalling in Belgium (if you follow this, which I doubt many non-Belgians do. The story isn’t very interesting and far too complex for most populist media writers to write much about, so I doubt many non-Belgians even know about it – which illustrates how populism can’t work in Europe -).
For Europe I do believe that still many compromises must be made. I don’t believe that French guys will ever vote for a German president, and German guys will ever vote for a French president. And that it’ll always be a stupid fight over who’d in the end win. Nor would the final result be beneficial for Europe’s future.
Europe simply doesn’t work like that. I live in Belgium, I can tell you how a fake federal state works. It’s not pretty. But that’s exactly what you’d get if you’d do direct elections for a European president today. Take it from me, you don’t want a fake federalized Europe with a populist president who appeases only HIS people and where the presidency switches between Germany and France every four years. If you’re honest about it, you’d realize that this is what you’d get. I doubt that it would last for even a single term.
Well I believe he’s standing down as MEP to run against John Bercow, the Speaker in the general election… that or it was the BNP guy. I’m pro-Europe, I don’t see how you can be anything else in this world. Unfortunately there are some people who put spin on issues and blame “the EU”.