If you look at the state of European politics today, you will see a collage of chaos. France has been stuck with a transitional government for two months after parliamentary elections in which no party won convincingly. In Germany, the extreme right won a series of state elections on September 1. She appears to be her chancellor Olaf Scholz doomed to defeat in the next year's national elections. As for Hungary and its leader Viktor Orban, we better not talk about it. Coalitions formed by parties with little in common keep administrations with unstable majorities in power, from Spain to the Netherlands. And then there's Belgium, a country where politicians ritually haggle for a year or more before forming a government (current number of days: 88). The charm of democracy is that it is messy, but Europe has elevated chaos to high art.
Even amid the tumult caused by the voters, in a rainy corner of northern Europe, part of the continent's governmental apparatus is still working. The new list of 27 European commissioners is currently being drawn up in Brussels, and it is expected that the new responsibilities will be distributed in the coming days. From migration policy to trade, regulating large technology companies, strengthening European defense, monitoring national finances, creating green rules and much more, there are few aspects of life in the bloc that are outside the domain of the executive giant of the European Union. The technocratic approach he prefers sidesteps issues of democratic accountability. However, he was so effective that the "leave it to the experts" management method became popular outside Brussels. When politicians fail to form national governments, outside "experts" are sometimes called in. The temptations of technocracy are like a siren call to those who just want to get the job done, ignoring the voters.
The advancement of European technocrats is to a large extent the result of shifting "competences" - to use the Brussels jargon - from the 27 member states to the EU. Once a trade organization for coal and steel, it has turned into a government in all but name. This is often not a bad thing: it would be absurd for each country to have its own decarbonisation targets, for example. As Europe grappled with a series of crises, from Covid-19 to the war in Ukraine, the mandarins from Brussels gained more influence. A growing share of the EU budget is allocated to countries that meet the conditions set by the Eurocrats, be it reforming the courts or labor laws. In theory, if not in practice, bloc rules limit the natural desire of national governments to run endless budget deficits, for example.
Another big dose of criticism is in store. It is expected that Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, presented a report on September 9 on how to revive the bloc's fragile economy. It will reportedly run to 400 pages, and is already being treated as a prophetic blueprint for what governments need to do to stay in the EU's good graces. There is no doubt that Dragi's report, the provisions of which will be included in the working materials of the incoming commissioners, will be full of good sense. But who decides if this is so? Politicians should worry about how their policies will be accepted at the polling station. This does not concern Dragi, as the newest chief technocrat of the EU. Unfortunately for those voters who think he is mistaken about the future of industrial policy.
The timing of the report, which was mostly prepared before, but was released just after the European elections where its recommendations were not present, is unfortunate. This will lend credence to claims that the EU is not accountable to voters. This aspect is often exaggerated. The 720-member European Parliament is monitoring the commissioners, and will be vetting all candidates for the position in the coming weeks (Ursula von der Lajen, who has been at the head of the commission since 2019, received parliamentary approval for a second term in July). National governments have a great influence on how the EU institutions use their powers, and especially on who leads them. But those who argue that Brussels is the source of endless bureaucracy without oversight are also right. Often the regulations that affect Europeans are the work of a bureaucracy of 32.000 people who don't have to worry about what the public thinks of their latest initiative.
And the technocracy gained a foothold at the national level as well. European politics has become messier. Gone are the days when two major parties fought in elections with one clear winner. There are now up to twelve, including the Greens, Liberals and Nationalists. The compromise needed to form an alliance is even more difficult to achieve, especially if extreme right-wing parties are considered unacceptable for forming coalitions, as is often the case. In the ensuing stalemate, bargaining around a non-problematic expert is often the only obvious solution after months of stagnation. Dragi was appointed prime minister of Italy in 2021, the fourth technocrat to hold the position since the 1990s. The new Dutch prime minister was until recently a civil servant in the Ministry of Justice, promoted to the top position when feuding politicians failed to find a leader acceptable to all. Emanuel Macron, the president of France, was reportedly considering an unknown mutual insurance administrator for the position of prime minister.
A little techocratic hiatus until the politicians fix the problems might not be a bad thing. However, the purpose of politics is to make decisions. In practice, this means that someone has to balance expert advice with electoral reality. As the former head of the European Commission said Jean-Claude Juncker, politicians around the world know what needs to be done, just not how to get re-elected after they do it. Democracies stay vibrant by replacing existing authorities, leaving room for new people to listen to different kinds of experts. Technocrats will always have their place in well-functioning political systems, but it should be in the background.
Translation: A. Š.
Bonus video:
