Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2014-07-01-Speech-2-010-000"
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"en.20140701.4.2-010-000"2
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"Mr President, I rise to speak with a sense of duty. Like so many of you arriving here today for the first time, I came in 2004 with great hope and celebration: we were reunifying our continent after decades of division. But today, colleagues, if we choose to listen there is a message for us to hear, a message which requires us to change our ways.
I am told this election is a foregone conclusion, that the deal has been done before a single vote has been cast, and that I and you should simply bow to the inevitable. Colleagues, there is nothing more sacred in the world of democratic politics than the right to vote: to cast a ballot for beliefs sincerely held, to express a choice that reflects the interests of all those who we have been elected to serve, to give a voice to cherished ideals and principles. But is that what we are being invited by some to do here today?
What have we become if the Presidency of this House – an office that should rise above partisan politics and ordinary political ambition – is reduced to nothing more than a bargaining chip, a counter in a game, a consolation prize for failing to get a consolation prize, Plan D in a political life where Plans A, B, and C have failed?
We were told in the recent election that this time it would be different, that transparency would prevail over secrecy, that principle would override expediency, that honest, democratic politics would triumph over the backward-looking backroom deal. But sadly, just a few weeks after the European elections, we are being invited to endorse a cosy consensus brokered behind closed doors. This is a shoddy, shabby, shameful vision of our Union. This is not a vision I could possibly share. It is a mandate to carry on exactly as before, a deaf ear to the message conveyed by the majority who felt compelled to stay away from the ballot and the millions who felt compelled to demonstrate in the only way left to them by turning to the extremes.
As a former Commissioner once said, it is hard to respect a Parliament that does not respect itself. Well, I respect this Parliament. It embodies so many hopes for the future. I did not come into politics to defend the status quo or to secure high offices for the select few. I am sure you did not either. All my political life, I have espoused the vision of Europeans cooperating together in open, democratic and fair institutions. I am sure many of you also share this vision, in which one nation alone does not shape our paths and priorities, but we fight our battles and accept the results. We see this happening among our national leaders who, late last week, did not all agree but who have come together again to cooperate, as we too must do in order to respect the wishes of the electorate and deliver the change and opportunity they call for.
Of course, while we share hopes for the future, we have many different views about the route to be chosen to fulfil these aspirations. Our institutions should not, however, be snared by one political faction or another or traded for control elsewhere. I believe that the President of Parliament should not use his office to express personal opinions or promote his personal interests or to advance his personal career. No, I have a more noble vision for the office of President of our House.
The President should reflect the diversity of this House, as this House reflects the diversity of the peoples of Europe. The President should be fair to all, open to all, attentive to all. The President should represent this House with honour and dignity throughout Europe and indeed the world. That is the kind of President I aspire to be. I do not want to play politics: I want to enhance the reputation of our shared institution. I do not want to look after my interests, I want to look after yours. I do not want to return to the politics of backroom deals of years gone by, I want to reach out to all those Europeans who look to our institution with hope for the future.
This is my dream for the European Parliament, but such dreams will not become reality if we allow the better angels of our nature to be defeated by political calculation or personal ambition. When you are about to cast your ballot this morning, and you stand alone with your beliefs and conscience in making your democratic choice, will you vote for the backroom deal, or will you vote for a Europe of openness, transparency, democracy and hope?
I humbly ask for your support for my vision of a Presidency worthy of this House and worthy of the peoples of Europe."@en1
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