Comment by surgical_fire
2 days ago
> Local constitutional institutions have more legitimacy among the people than the bunch of bureaucrats in Brussels.
Repeating this bullshit over and over does not make it true.
The EU has a parliament that approves laws. The commissioners are appointed by the democratic elected governments. It has a legitimate mandate.
Ask local armed forces, judges or police whether they would back Brussels or their local government if it came to an actual forceful showdown.
This is the ultimate legitimacy test, not things written on paper.
> things written on paper.
"things written on paper" is the basis of any serious, respectable country. "Things written on paper" should be respected, because when you are serious about your commitments, words matter.
I don't want to see the country I live in become a shithole because local armed forces or police think themselves above the law.
The ultimate legitimacy test is whether you are serious about the things you sign. Not if some proto-fascist wants to tear down institutions.
OK, let me formulate this better. Let us say that you have a serious conflict between two such papers.
One of them is the nation's constitution, the other is a decision from Brussels, and people from politicians down to the regular cop will have to choose their allegiance, A or B.
I claim that in such situation, in most EU nations, their constitutions will win. They are held in higher emotional regard, as they have behind them a long legacy of struggle and memory of people whose lives were martyred in a fight for national freedom.
Which is actually why Brussels shouldn't push some things too hard.
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