Are my eyes deceiving me?

It’s a cold, wet, and windy day over here in dear old Blighty so what better time to pay a visit to an Englishman’s Castle for a spot of warm comfort. What a mistake. Now I am not only cold but also rather annoyed:

Members of the European Parliament rejected moves yesterday to clean up scandal-ridden arrangements for their travel allowances and expenses. Their decision prompted anger and disbelief from British MEPs, who voted for proposed reforms.

In a series of votes carried by a margin of six to four at a full session of the parliament in Strasbourg, MEPs resisted proposals for audits of their accounts and turned down calls to impose sanctions on those found to have defrauded the taxpayer.

I think this latitude for deciding ones own fate should be extended to the rest of us. Imagine, if you will, how annoyed the tax man would be if we all chose, by a six to four ratio, in a free vote to prevent access to and auditing of our own personal accounts.

Of course, such a vote would never be permitted. We would not be afforded the latitude of which I speak. So, what is so special about these EU architects? Why are they even given the option?

Because they are powerful men and women working for a powerful organisation in command of the processes, procedures and structures that granted them their privileged positions in the first place.

Imagine, if you will, the UK parliament voting for the same toadish outcome. How long (no need to be exact, an approximation would suffice) do you think it would be before they were turfed out on their collecive ears by a rightfully righteous public and judiciary? Or worse.

Lamp posts would bend under the strain.

But not so with the EU parliament. They are different somehow. As they dish out to us various rights and privileges (thanks very much for that by the way) in their stinky constitutional document they do the same for themselves in their own despicable way (it's called The Constitution Plus) arguing that they have every right to because they have the mandate from the very people who can't vote for them and who don't give a brass farthing about them.

Give them and inch and they'll legislate that you should be using centimeters.

Posted by John at April 13, 2005 09:53 AM | TrackBack