Make-Believe Democracy

Professor Christine Neuhold on the Maastricht Debate | Real and surreal European politics | An evening on Planet Europe with Pelle Christy | Violeta Tomić versus political animals | Jan Zahradil has Big Fun

Is the contest to become the next president of the European Commission just make-believe democracy? We look for answers in the Dutch city of Maastricht, where candidates held their first official debate on April 29th.Christine Neuhold, the professor of EU Democratic Governance at Maastricht University, which helped organise the event, talks about what was real, and surreal, about the debate.We also hear from another EU expert who was in the audience: Pelle Christy Geertsen of Brussels consultancy Euraffex. Geertsen, who spoke with EU Scream in November about citizen democracy, shares his thoughts on an evening spent on Planet Europe.

James Kanter is co-founder and editor EU Scream. For 12 years he was an EU Correspondent for the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times based in Paris and Brussels.  

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