A Philosopher's Mission to Save the EU

„This is Jürgen Habermas's main point and what has been missing from the vision of Europe: a formula for what is wrong with the current construction. He doesn't see the EU as a commonwealth of states or as a federation but, rather, as something new. It is a legal construct that the peoples of Europe have agreed upon in concert with the citizens of Europe – we with ourselves, in other words – in a dual form and omitting each respective government. This naturally removes Merkel and Sarkozy's power base, but that's what he's aiming for anyway.

Then he's overwhelmed by a second wave of fatigue. He has to sit down again, and a professor brings him some orange juice. Habermas pulls out his handkerchief. Then he stands up and continues to speak about saving the »biotope of old Europe«.

There is an alternative, he says, there is another way aside from the creeping shift in power that we are currently witnessing. The media »must« help citizens understand the enormous extent to which the EU influences their lives. The politicians »would« certainly understand the enormous pressure that would fall upon them if Europe failed. The EU »should« be democratized.

His presentation is like his book. It is not an indictment, although it certainly does at times have an aggressive tone; it is an analysis of the failure of European politics. Habermas offers no way out, no concrete answer to the question of which road democracy and capitalism should take.”