Conor here: Unfortunately, it’s not dismantlement they’re after but doubling down on the plundering of Europe by US (and European) oligarchs while claiming victory against the grating virtue signaling of the liberal Davos cabal. That’s what the following piece describes and what we’ve covered here
By Sam Bright, DeSmog’s UK Deputy Editor. He was previously the Investigations Editor of Byline Times and an investigative journalist at the BBC. He is the author of two books: Fortress London, and Bullingdon Club Britain. Originally published at DeSmog.
The group that drafted a key blueprint for Donald Trump’s second term convened a meeting in Washington D.C. this week to consider proposals for bulldozing the European Union (EU).
The Polish investigative outlet VSquare revealed that the Heritage Foundation gathered hardline conservative groups on 11 March to hear how they would overhaul the current structures of the EU.
The “closed-door workshop” featured a debate on a new paper produced by the lobby groups MCC and Ordo Iuris entitled: “The Great Reset: Restoring Member State Sovereignty in the 21st Century”.
The paper proposes dismantling the European Commission and the European Court of Justice. It claims that the “EU is evolving into a quasi-federal state, limiting national decision-making power” and is imposing “ideologically motivated policies on member states, without any mandate”. Under the plan, the EU would cease to function in its current guise, and would instead be renamed the European Community of Nations (ECN).
Kenneth Haar, a researcher and campaigner at the transparency watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory, said it was “quite simply terrifying” to see the Heritage Foundation moving its attention to Europe.”
“Most of the attacks made by the Trump presidency in recent weeks on civil rights, on migrants, on LGBTQ+ rights and more, can be traced back to Project 2025,” he said. “We should be worried about them building up ambitions and strength in Europe.”
DeSmog can also reveal that the Heritage Foundation has been holding private meetings with European politicians in recent months, as the group attempts to forge new alliances on the continent.
MCC and Ordo Iuris have ties to national-conservative political parties that have been hostile to the EU’s agenda in recent years – in particular the bloc’s attempts to institute climate reforms.
Ordo Iuris has promoted an agenda often supported by Poland’s hard-right Law and Justice party, which ruled the country from 2015 to 2023. The party was accused of clamping down on democratic freedoms and the rights of minority groups while in power. Ordo Iuris itself has been accused of “spearheading an effort to roll back women’s and LGBT rights”.
MCC is directly backed by autocrat Viktor Orbán’s Hungarian government. The group is chaired by Orbán’s political director, Balázs Orbán, who has said: “It is our goal for Hungary to become an intellectual powerhouse, in which MCC plays a key role.”
In 2020, MCC received more than $1.3 billion in Hungarian state funding, largely via a 10 percent stake in the country’s national oil company.
MCC-Ordo Iuris document claims to support a reformed EU that “emphasises decentralisation, national interests, flexibility, deregulation, and a stronger role for member states.”
The Heritage Foundation led the way in creating Project 2025, the 922-page guide to radically retrenching the U.S. government. The blueprint urged Trump to “dismantle the administrative state”, reverse policies on climate action, slash restrictions on fossil fuel extraction, scrap state investment in renewable energy, and gut the Environmental Protection Agency.
Many of these policies are being executed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has decimated several departments including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), while several individuals with ties to Project 2025 have roles in the new administration.
The 11 March meeting also featured the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian legal activist group that was responsible in 2022 for helping convince the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the constitutional right to an abortion.
The Southern Poverty Law Center legal advocacy group has argued that the ADF should be deemed a “hate group because it has supported the idea that being LGBTQ+ should be a crime in the U.S. and abroad.”
Project 2025 proposed limiting reproductive rights, including further limiting access to abortions as well as access to contraceptives.
The Heritage Foundation “seeks to steer America towards autocracy under Trump’s rule,” said Martin Schirdewan, a Member of European Parliament (MEP) for Die Linke and the co-chair of The Left group.
“Since his election we have seen that they intend to follow through on those plans to the very end. We now know that the Heritage Foundation and their allies in Europe want to replicate that model here. We must protect our services, rights and liberties from these oligarchs at all costs.”
Speaking at a side event during the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in London on 17 February, Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts appeared to hint at the group’s new European focus – calling for closer collaboration between national-conservative politicians across the Western world.
He claimed that when Trump and his vice president JD Vance “say America First, when they say they’re going to revitalise the spirit of America, that’s not at the expense of Europe. It’s not a zero sum game, which is what Brussels wants you to believe.”
Roberts added that the Heritage Foundation would support “our friends from Europe” to “reclaim” their institutions.
He claimed that supranational organisations like the EU, United Nations, and World Health Organisation “rob us of our individual sovereignty”.
“This is all about reclaiming sovereignty, reclaiming the spirit, the sovereignty of each of our nation states,” he said. “And so I can speak for a lot of Americans here and certainly all of us from the Heritage Foundation… We’ve drawn a line in the sand and we’re ready to lead the world again.”
Trump this week announced $8 billion tariffs on EU goods, including a 25 percent tax on steel and aluminium, after claiming that European countries are “ripping off” the U.S. on trade. He has also accused the EU of being “one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the world”.
The Heritage Foundation, MCC Brussels, and ADF were approached for comment.
MCC and Ordo Iuris
Hungary and Poland have faced a number of conflicts with the EU in recent years over their attempts to impose reactionary, anti-democratic policies.
Viktor Orbán’s government has severely restricted political, media, and judicial freedoms in Hungary over recent years, and has declared plans to “occupy” Brussels in order to shape its policies on migration, climate, and gender.
The Hungarian autocrat is also an ally of Trump. Speaking in March 2024, while hosting Orbán at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, Trump said: “There’s nobody that’s better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orbán. He’s fantastic.”
MCC, which helps to spread Orbán’s ideologies at home and abroad, is funded heavily by fossil fuel finance.
In 2020, Orbán’s administration gave MCC a 10 percent stake in Hungarian oil company MOL, a 10 percent stake in the pharmaceutical firm Gedeon Richter, plus $462 million in cash, and $9 million in property. In 2023, MCC received €50 million in dividends from MOL, a firm that receives 65 percent of its oil from Russia, according to an investigation by German broadcaster ZDF.
The group’s Brussels arm has called on the EU to “ditch the net zero madness” and has helped to convene anti-green groups from across Europe over the past year. It recently stated that one of its key campaigning objectives in 2025 was to help create “a Europe unshackled from environmentalism”, and has called for the introduction of an EU DOGE.
“The European Parliament must take this threat seriously, including by closing lobbying loopholes,” said Nick Aiossa, director at Transparency International EU, “otherwise shady think tanks with anti-democratic agendas will be able to sway policy at will.”
Meanwhile, Poland followed the lead of Hungary under its previous Law and Justice administration. Media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders stated that, “During the eight years of rule by the Law and Justice party, the public media were turned into propaganda tools”.
Before the party lost power in 2023, Human Rights Watch reported that the Law and Justice administration undermined the “rule of law by strengthening its control over the judiciary and smearing journalists and human rights activists critical of the government”.
In keeping with MCC, Ordo Iuris has been advocating for “structural reforms” of the EU for several years. In 2022, the group said it would work closely with MEPs who oppose the “further federalisation” of the EU and want to see the bloc returned to its “Christian roots”.
A spokesperson for Ordo Iuris said that the group “is an independent foundation funded solely by private donors. It has never received public grants or subsidies and has no affiliation with any political party.”
Heritage Foundation’s European Meetings
DeSmog can also reveal that the Heritage Foundation has been holding private meetings with European politicians in recent months.
On 21 February, the group met with Hungarian MEP Ernö Schaller-Baross in Washington D.C. Schaller-Baross is a member of Orbán’s party Fidesz, which is part of the far-right Patriots for Europe group in European Parliament. He currently serves as a commissioner for the office of Viktor Orban, and formerly acted as Hungary’s deputy state secretary for international affairs from 2018 to 2021.
The MEP seems to share many of the ideologies held by the groups gathered by the Heritage Foundation on 11 March.
In an interview in January with the pro-Orbán newspaper Magyar Nemzet, he called for “a viable European alternative to Brussels’s misguided policies.”
“Our aim is to guide the European Union back to the path of common sense and offer effective, real solutions to the continent’s challenges,” he said – criticising the EU’s “economically harmful, extreme green policies”.
On 19 and 20 January, the Heritage Foundation met with Czech MEP Filip Turek, who is also a member of the Patriots for Europe group.
Turek was in Washington D.C. for Trump’s inauguration – one of several populist European politicians invited by the incoming president. Turek was also pictured with Musk during the trip.
Like Musk, Turek has faced allegations over his use of Nazi gestures in the past. During the 2024 EU election campaign, several old photos of Turek were circulated online, including one in which he appeared to give a Nazi salute from a car, and one featuring a candlestick with a swastika. Turek has stated that he is a collector of Nazi artefacts, and also has a knife used by SS soldiers, but denied that he was a Nazi sympathiser – saying his gesture was “dark stupid humour”.
Turek, a former professional racing driver, is a social media influencer who wants to “save” the combustion engine. He is also a climate science denier. The EU’s Green Deal “is one of the biggest scams in history,” Turek said in a debate prior to his election in 2024. “It needs to be repealed, repealed, repealed.”
“Are we in a time of climate crisis?” YouTuber Šimon Žd’ársky asked Turek in an interview in March 2024. “No, we are not,” Filip Turek replied.
“What we see in the European Parliament at the moment, is a love affair between traditional conservatives and the far-right,” said Kenneth Haar from Corporate Europe Observatory.
“They command a majority, and they have already shown to be willing to use it to roll back democracy, climate policies, and environmental protection. They could change the face of the EU decisively in the coming years.”
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Hmmm. Much to think about there. As ever, Conor Gallagher provides much background to contemplate.
Yet let’s not let the so-called MCC and so-called Ordo Iuris off the hook: There is an important aspect of pure kitsch, which is part of the seeds of downfall of reactionary movements.
MCC = Matthias Corvinus Collegium. Matthew the Just, king of Hungary and Croatia, 1458 – 1490. So we are back to nostalgia for emperors, plus Great Hungary nationalism. I bet the Slovenians and Croats will love the attention of the Hungarians.
As for me, I prefer Frederick II, Stupor Mundi, born at Iesi, king of Sicily, annoyer of Popes.
Second: Ordo Iuris. Sheesh. More kitsch. Probably aligned with reactionary Catholics of the J.D. “Convert” Vance.
A definition: Ordo iùris
L’espressione indica l’unicità del sistema del diritto romano, ed è stata coniata da un insigne romanista, Mario Lauria. Ius civile e ius honoràrium sono ispirati dalla medesima fonte: l’(—) già presente nelle XII tavole [vedi Lex XII Tabulàrum].
Note that reference to Lex XII. We are talking about the twelve tables of the law of ancient Rome, not “Christian civilization.” These peeps can’t even get their kitsch right.
Now to more serious matters: Living as I do in the Undisclosed Region of Italy, with its glorious past, I can assure you that some of the pretences of the Heritage bois and girlz will fall flat in Italy. Even the Lega doesn’t want to be dominated by Poland and its daffy, self-regarding arrogance.
Which leads me to write: What we are seeing is a club of northern European countries in crisis (England, Germany, France) and looking for a sense of purpose. Italy, which is only the second industrial nation in the EU and the leading agricultural nation by value added, is relegated to second tier — even though it is a founding member of the forerunners of the EU.
Meanwhile, “New Europe” is thoroughly colonized by the worst U.S. ideas and is turning out to be a burden on core EU. Sure, the EU had to bring in Romania to import all of those stereotypical electricians. But now the EU has imported countries dominated by extreme cultural nationalism and political resentments. If they weren’t in the EU, they’d be squabbling over their borders. After all, shouldn’t the Poles re-take Wilno / Vilnius? Doesn’t Hungary deserve an incursion into Cluj?
Do I have a solution to the many questions this excellent post poses? No. Is it worth watching the ferment and dissent (which is widespread) in Italian culture? Yes. I advise it, especially if you can read Italian sources.
Will Italy succeed in calming down the overwrought Northerners spoiling for war and the hysteric Newbies worried about impurities entering their vaunted cultures? No.
La lotta continua.
I wouldn’t be so sure about the “heritage boyz and girlz” in Italy not being swayed by that syren call. After all, there has been a strong irridentist and revanchist undercurrent in the Italian Right (and our “Santa Giorgia” emanating from it) , which has been getting stronger and stronger in the last 10-15 years, and has managed to sneak their ideas into the mainstream (Giornata del Ricordo). Croatians and Slovenians will not like their attention any less than the one coming from the Hungarian side.
Being a mixedblood from an undisclosed Croatian region with a large family in several undisclosed regions of Italy (where I have also resided for a long time) and living in an undisclosed “New Europe” country, I feel like I managed to hit the tombola (bingo four our anglosaxon friends) with regards to what you’ve mentioned above. The irony of being caught between the rock and a hard place of neoliberal eurocrats pushing foreverwar (even if just rethorical, given that they’re unable to do anything productive) and their largest opponent being Orban with his ultraconservative/irridentist dreams of greater Hungary is not lost on me. I think I’ll invoke Samuele Bersani and choose neither…
Lang:
Ahhh, you had the luck of being born in Rijeka / Fiume?
I will start by saying that the handling of the genocidal proxy war in Palestine (and support of it by various Italian political parties) as well as slavish support of the proxy genocide in Ukraine (by most of the Italian political parties) is discrediting the Italian right. Giorgia Meloni is struggling to stay on top of the warmongering mess and also to avoid the inevitable volley of merda that is flying.
That written, I understand that someone like Matteo Salvini, who is still shilling for Musk and wants Starlink in the Italian Ministry of Defense, is hard to parse. The sloppy rightwinger coopted by Americans in a party that ostensibly is antifascist. Yet he exists.
Further, the yearly controversies over the foibe pushed by the right fail to take into account that Italy was in the process of losing the war in that border region, and in WWII, a war in which civilian populations were treated horrifically, the foibe are an unfortunate result of the policies of the Fascist regime.
Yet one should recall that most of Italy is not as conservative as the Veneto.
All that written, I find myself in a situation that I never expected. I may end up voting Five Stars and for Giuseppe Conte because of their firm opposition to war. After the mess in the Europarliament in which the Partito Democratico ended up as the (odious) Pina Picierno fan club…. ahinoi.
La lotta continua.
A few days ago, there was a post in the link by a Russian blogger comparing the US nihilism to the 90s Russia, where the dismantling of state (or in this case) super-state institutions was the “cool” thing and replacing them with might-makes-right as “naturally” superb.
So, in narrating the political story of reclaiming national “sovereignty,” the “heritage boyz and girlz” might just be convincing, especially when coupled with historical revisionism. I’m not sure how much folks living outside the Slovenian region bordering Italy or Italian region bordering Slovenia know/care about about Bazovica/Basovizza. While many so-called left politicians in Slovenia still commemorate the executions of partisans by the fascists and condemns Antonio Tajani’s claims to Slovene and Croatian regions (https://www.facebook.com/antonio.tajani/videos/2049353612024292/), most of the political right (40% of the voters) is still very much trapped in the narrative: “all the problems today, are the fault of Tito’s communists —… and the contemporary “Cultural Marxism” of their descendants”…
But “between a rock and a hard place” there seems to be ever more room for double-think whatever political orientation… and when the so-called left end ups spending a billion € on military expansion to conform to NATO-EU betters while social security much of it left-over from the Yugoslav era further deteriorates, voters tend to become just as cynical and nihilist rather than progressive…
Heh, well, it’s undisclosed but the border triangle Italy-Slovenia-Croatia is small :)
And I agree with you, the support (or quiet approval) for the genocide in Palestine and the war in Ukraine has thoroughly soured what little respect I had left for Italian politics. I don’t remember a war in the last 20-30 years that the people were not against, yet somehow we always end up with a political caste that suddenly changes tune when they get in power and goes along with it.
I used to vote regularly when I lived in Italy/Croatia, but the last time I voted was for the referendum in 2022, partially because of laziness (have not changed registration for the mail-in ballot to “New Europe”) and partially because of disgust. But yeah, now somehow Five Stars seems like the most down to earth of the big parties. Ahinoi indeed.
When last year I asked about the fearful reports and opinion pieces on “Project 2025” Yves used the word “spitballing”, I believe.
This now reminds me a bit of that spitballing.
It is an odd, superficial piece in a way. It is not uninteresting but where is the “money”?
If USA intends to exploit Europe then tell me how it takes place.
I know about that story but not from this text.
The most time is spent on ideological issues (aka “democracy”) which is so difficult to assess.
Hungary:
Certainly many Hungarians who live in the West are turning their eyes. Religion is back, I assume the cultural funding has changed too. More of what is called tradition (whatever that is). But then, Hungary in its foundation always was conservative. It was after all for a long time in essence a rural society. But foreigners only know the capital Budapest. Which is a bit like NYC vs. USA.
Hungarian pensioners get a decent amount, can travel for free. As traditionally the case in Hungary healthcare works, you get pharmaceuticals much cheaper than in Germany. Social care is a problem. Education is free but old-fashioned I heard. You get awarded for each new child. In a traditional sense they try to care of their people. On the other hand they are harsh on the workless and the homeless. Is that unusual? Not in Europe any more.
In how far Hungarian media truly are being controlled more than elsewhere I don´t know. One must keep in mind Hungary in the 1990s had one of the most advanced Constitutions and liberal media laws.
If a German TV station like ZDF claims anything I suggest caution.
For instance the above linked report says this:
“The tenor: They want a different Europe – no migration, a largely abolished climate protection, and controls on freedom of expression. In keeping with this, independent journalists are also being excluded from major international media outlets; instead, the conference presents itself online with glossy videos.”
Sounds familiar? Yeah.
The alternative to Orban once was multimillionaire F. Gyurcsany. He eventually had a few financial scandals too many and got hated. But I assume he still owns two-digit millions. Of course Orban is corrupt too but he so far has had foot soldiers protecting him. And then for several years it was like Russia: who else to vote for. But there parallels in fact end:
Hungary is half the size of Moscow´s population. And in contrast to Russia Hungary is small and cramped in a way. Russia knows 200 ethnic minorities. Hungary is WASC in contrast to WASP.
Vis a vis EU – matter of the fact is, Hungary is always regarded as a wall against immigration. So eventually it doesn´t matter how Hungary does it, their role is to keep away those immigrants from the white halls and gardens of the EU´s major capitals. That´s the deal.
Is it the direction people hoped for in the 1990s? Not necessarily. But it´s a small country. Look at what is going on in Romania which is twice its size. And Hungary did experience some serious crises.
In fact there are many similiarities to most European immigrant nations, whose nationales live in Germany: Turks, former Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Poles, Iran too actually. Many of them are critical of their native countries. But would they suggest it´s the end of the world? Not really. But for our media not nuke Russia is regarded a bigger crime than quoting the bible in public.
ZDF claims Orban wants to “destroy” the EU. He would be an idiot. The only reason he is where he is is due to massive EU-subsidies. Orban is a creature of the EU. And the above text fails to point this out. Frankly almost all texts omit it. I assume many are note aware of this. Budapest is sparkling I was told. And all of the money comes from Brussels.
p.s. here is the machine-translation of the above linked ZDF-report, which is your usual childish PR.
How Orban is attacking democracy in Europe
by Peter Kreysler
03.06.2024
|A multi-billion dollar network of companies and foundations: This is Viktor Orban’s propaganda machine – with the aim of spreading new right-wing ideologies in the West.
https://archive.is/fWuyJ
What would interest me on the other hand: How would a truly evil conspiracy look like between the likes of Macrons´s people AND Trumps´s people? That´s what I was always expecting to be told but it wasn´t delivered. (or did I overlook something?)
Totally agree! Whoever relies on ZDF needs a new life.
When I search terms like “critics”, “mistakes” or similar terms associated with the EU Commission it is true that most if not all of what is found comes from media sympathetic with, let’s say, populist, nationalist, right-wing, conservative parties. And they frequently find criticism which is well funded. Is there a tension between nationalists and globalist forces in Europe? It looks like there is though I haven’t given this enough time. It is curious because this very same globalists claim some kind of European-level nationalism which in turn can be considered extremist when you see the geopolitical posturing of the EU.
I’m thinking that Ursula and the EU Commission are in deep trouble. If the EU institutions were robust and have proven themselves to serve the needs of the EU member states, then they would be able to fight off this Trump onslaught on the EU. But they are not. For years now the EU has stripped more and more power from individual member states reducing them to near servility. We saw what happened in Romania when there was a danger of an EU critic coming to power. It was a blatant authoritarian attack on the people of that country. And Ursula has usurped all sorts of powers to herself like throwing the weight of the EU behind Israel when it was not her job and she never asked any of the member states.
Point is that it won’t be just Orban and Fico helping the US here. There are likely a whole bunch of countries will follow them as well. What choice do they have? The present EU wants to militarize the whole continent, get into a military conflict with Russia and demand that member states cut back on things like pensions, education, infrastructure, etc. to pay for it all. And how that money gets spent will be decided in only one place – Brussels. As it is, the EU has helped push the EU economy off a cliff through their actions and decisions the past few years and I am willing to bet that most member States would like to turn the clock back to when the EU was simply the Common Market and things still worked for them.
Countries that use the Euro are surely somewhat pooched if they want to exit the EU…
I’ve become convinced that the Council itself is quite satisfied to cede power to the Commission, doing the work that they could never get national populations to agree to through “elections”, those things that used to mean something. It’s insidious. How a pro-Europe person like me could become so disaffected with the project is a testament to their utter failure. Normally, I should think people like Orban or Fico are non fréquentables but I’m agreeing with much of what they say about the autocrats in Brussels.
Bugs:
When I was writing my comment up top, I also wondered how it is that the project has soured.
I’m inclined to think that the EU / Europe is divided in three: England, France, Germany (with German suburbs of Netherlands and Denmark). This is the club that is all in for neoliberalism. The dream of France is no longer la mission civilisatrice, as dubious as it was. Now it is to be the business capital of Europe.
The add-on countries after the fall of Berlin: Hungary, Poland, Latvia, Ecceteralandia, were just not ready. The EU rushed to take them in to exploit them. It hasn’t worked out as planned.
I am happy to be in the “second-tier” of the PIIGS. There is still support for Europe as a concept here in Italy. I’d also venture that Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Italy, and Greece have embarked on some experiments in maintaining social peace and in blunting the economy that the true believers don’t want to try.
It also helps that the Italian constitution set up (famously) a republic based on labor. Italy’s constitution is quite the leftist document. It’s going to take some time for the Euro Commission to batter it and the the Italian populace into submission.
For you, the obvious question: Just why have the French, who know better, parted ways from their “Latin Sisters” and given up on the ideas of egalité and fraternité?
The answer to your question is complex and is evolving. I don’t have a quick answer. I would say that the most obvious thing going on is that France is in a class war and that the neoliberals, like in the US, have convinced the lower-ish middle class that the working class is their enemy. The wealthy in this country remain the same as always (learnt nothing, forgotten nothing) and are disappointed with the Gaullists, who transformed into pseudo Christian Democrats and abandoned their scepticism of Anglo-American liberalism, so they gravitate to right-wing parties that, like most French parties, unite around one personality, like Eric Zemmour or Nicolas Dupont-Aignan. Obviously, while Hollande was in office, the Socialists abandoned any pretense of being a socialist party but became rather the party of an urban bourgeoisie who think that banning plastic straws and mandating non-detachable bottle caps, etc. will “sauver la planète” because 50 million French consumers will save the world.
Aurelien would probably make some noises here about the rather large population of Muslim immigrants wrt this virement idéologique, and he could be right. A lot of hysterical finger-pointing and occasional terrorist attacks certainly help to reroute class consciousness to other subjects.
I am not a fan of the Heritage Foundation. That being said, this article is awful heavy on the histrionics. The Heritage Foundation is a bunch of overpaid conservative eggheads, it is based in the US, and it is not a part of the US government and therefore it can not in any way dismantle the EU. Not can the US government dismantle the EU. Short of foreign tanks rolling in to Brussels, only the EU can dismantle the EU, whether US conservatives like it or not.
I’m very tired of these pieces that throw out the term ‘autocrat’ without bothering to even suggest what actions have been taken by a given leader that makes them one. Last time I checked, countries like Russia and Hungary had more than one political party, governments with lawmaking bodies, advisory councils, prime ministers, foreign secretaries, etc., etc., etc., and not just one person sitting at the top calling all the shots. If it is because a leader has ruled for a long time, then please explain why Angela Merkel who was chancellor for 16 years is not an autocrat. If it is because political factions within a country limit the choices of voters for their own benefit, then please explain why Joe Biden was not an autocrat after shivving Sanders (metaphorically, of course). Maybe rather than trying to discredit other countries’ leaders with derogatory termininology, perhaps we could just admit that different countries have different systems of government and we need to work with them all.
And as far as the Nazi scaremongering goes, maybe take a little closer look at who exactly the EU and US have been shoveling billions of dollars to in Ukraine before decrying anyone who shows an interest in traditional religion as the next Hitler. Until that happens, it’s difficult to take these claims seriously.
The Heritage Foundation has been around for decades coming up with plans for politicians to run on. Whoop de frigging do. That’s what these organizations are there for. The Democrats have their own think tanks too, funded by the “good billionaires”. I’m not a fan of elite guided think tanks and prefer my political movements to be from the ground up, not top down, but this is what we have. So I’m with Jon Stewart on this one. In the last couple minutes of this clip he says –
“The question should be, what are you learning from this? How would you use this power? What’s your contract with America? Democrats exist outside of him. Tell people what you would do with the power that Trump is wielding, and then convince us to give that power to you. As soon as possible. That’s the goal. It’s enough with the “He’s a Hitler, he’s a thing, stop doing it, that’s terrible”. What would you f-ing do??!!??”
The US Democrats/liberals or whatever you want to call them have no plan, and the EU has no other plan than to follow whatever the incompetent boobs from the US tell them to do. So maybe get a clue and stop being whiny ass titty babies. FFS, the US blows up the gas pipeline that powers the EU economy and all they can do is shrug and pretend they have no idea who did it. So time to stand up on their own two feet, learn how to cooperate with each other rather than cancelling mild opposition from on high (pretty autocratic that!), figure out who the real enemies are (hint: not Russia) or become a backwater again like Europe was for around 1,000 years before the Renaissance.
Like Conor said in the beginning, if only they were after the dismantlment of EU to give power back to genuinely independent states, that would be something we could try to work with.
Because, whatever the author of that piece might think:
“It claims that the “EU is evolving into a quasi-federal state, limiting national decision-making power” and is imposing “ideologically motivated policies on member states, without any mandate”.”
This is not a claim, this is factually true, way way beyond what the Heritage Foundation ideologues might think and deplore.
Like others, I was all for the EU decades ago, if it could actually become an intermediate power between Russia and the USA. Yet the EU has turned more and more neo-liberal with time and has now mostly morphed into a club of willing vassals of the USA, who actually want to out-USA the USA when they actually try to soften their position and get more sensible with Russia. Besides, its leaders are so inept they haven’t the foggiest project for Europe, apart from acting like the hedge fund managers of the Union. No wonder I now wish the whole endeavour to go down and their leaders to face courts for their crimes and incompetence.
At this point, if European countries have to be satellites of other powers, at least break the EU and let individual countries pick their master, or if they feel lucky, let them try to finesse it without picking favorites and instead playing neutral field, like Finland did decades ago, like Turkey could try (and tries at times), like Ukraine should’ve tried instead of going West for broke. Of course, if all European countries can go their own way, odds are that “the West” won’t like the result.
Alas, the only way the European Union could be redeemed in any way would be a continent-wide revolution that would took over its apparatus and turn it into something else entirely, the way the Bolsheviks took over the czarist state apparatus and created something wholly other over most of the former Russian empire. Obviously, this is way less likely to happen with the current Union, which probably isn’t even centralized enough for that and has too few people who are that desperate or are aggravated oppressed minorities.
Sadly, I can only lament just like how Aurelien ended up his last article: “The Europe we had is gone, the Europe we might have had never was.”