With Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, the EU's dual leadership is more worldly than before, including in areas where the EU has not traditionally been very prominent, such as defence (Photo: European Commission)

Fixing Europe's rhetoric

Opinion

by Vincent Stuer, Brussels,

If every man dies alone, then democracy too dies a million deaths.

Sebastian Haffner (1907-1999), in his insightful memoir of life in interwar Germany, saw his country succumb to "a million-fold nervous breakdown", making democratic citizenship unthinkable.

It was fear more than anything that had driven everyone, individually, into a state of exhausted collapse.

Continuously faced with forces beyond their control and problems beyond their comprehension, they simply "yield...

Get EU news that matters

Back our independent journalism by becoming a supporting member

Already a member? Login here

Opinion

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Vincent Stuer is a Belgian playwright, former speechwriter to EU Commission president José Manuel Barroso, and political aide now working for the Dutch D66 delegation in the European Parliament. His latest book is called Curb Your Idealism: the European Union As Seen From Within.