Direct Democracy

in German published 2018-06


Can citizens have enough say on important questions indirectly in a representative democracy? For example, if someone wants to strengthen the EU, they can elect the appropriate politicians.

But whom should voters elect if, for example, they are for the abolition of Hartz IV, against abortion and for more restrictions on immigration?

So the claim that in a representative democracy the voter can sufficiently express their will is utterly absurd.
Only a few countries are ripe for direct democracy. Direct democracy is the highest and most demanding form of Government.

                       Combination of direct and representative Democracy
                                            Representative Democracy
                                       Democracy with limited elections
                                        Democracy with bogus elections
                                          Dictatorship without elections


 It is argued that many citizens are overwhelmed when voting on substantive issues. That may be true, but experience has shown that many citizens just follow party slogans. This requires the parties and the media to explain to people exactly how they want to solve the problems with regard to a substantive issue. That makes the citizens better informed, and then they cannot say that politicians do what they want anyway. Elections on substantive issues are the best remedy for political disenchantment.

The initiative to ban minarets in Switzerland is often cited among the opponents of direct democracy. A majority overruled the rights of a minority here. But Muslims can continue to meet everywhere and continue to build mosques.

You will only be able to judge whether the ban on minarets is good in 20 to 50 years. The headscarf ban, which applies in some European countries in some circumstances, is also a restriction on the rights of religious minorities.

And even the ban on smoking in the restaurants, which was introduced in Bavaria in 2010 by a referendum, restricts the rights of a minority.

For more than 10 years, the anti-nuclear movement in Germany has led to major demonstrations, violent riots, blockades and confrontations with the police.

If the opponents of nuclear power could have launched an initiative to phase out nuclear energy, this conflict would probably have been resolved peacefully.

Conflicts are fought on the streets when it is not possible for politically active groups to make their voice heard through a direct democratic path.
The EU has a democratic deficit. Many mistaken developments in the EU would have been avoided with more democratic participation of citizens. The southern European countries would certainly not have been included in the eurozone. The introduction of the euro was forced by euphoric and ambitious politicians. The people make more pragmatic decisions.

 No meaningful international treaties should be concluded without the consent of citizens in all European countries.

The Members of the European Parliament do not really represent the citizens they were elected to represent because most of the time, only politicians who are convinced by the EU in its current form stand for election. EU skeptics are unlikely to pursue such a post in Brussels.