Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-11-18-Speech-4-020"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2004-11-18"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Activities of the European Ombudsman (2003)2
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20041118.4.4-020"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2004-11-18-Speech-4-0212
lpv:speaker	lp:Kathy Sinnott2
lpv:spoken text	". Mr President, I congratulate Mr De Rossa on his report, as well as the Ombudsman. Given the situation, aren't we lucky to have Mr Diamandouros! Please consider first, however, the situation that gives rise to an Ombudsman: a fundamental shift from real democracy to process democracy. It is a shift of power from the people to the bureaucrats, creating not a democracy, but a democracy-flavoured bureaucracy. In a real democracy there is no need for an Ombudsman. People speak for themselves, directly through their votes and through local participation. If their representatives do not reflect their will, they are replaced. Do the people know that they have lost their power? They certainly have not been told. If a vote were a unit of currency and real power was an item in a shop, it would be interesting to compare our buying power now to that we enjoyed 20 years ago or 20 years before that. I believe we would find that there has been a cheapening of democracy. At some level people know that their democratic currency has been devalued. A growing awareness is mirrored in the chronically low election polls in European elections. In view of this democratic deficit, I must be thankful that we have an Ombudsman to fight our corner – a corner that, in a democracy, we should be able to fight ourselves. I am even more thankful that given the endless, faceless bureaucracy that people have to deal with in our process democracy, we have, as this report points out, a well-intentioned Ombudsman. In the meantime, even as I direct constituents to the Ombudsman, I will continue to insist on a return of power to the people, which will lead to a real democracy."@en1
lpv:spokenAs	member_of_the_bureau; IND/DEM (2004-07-20--2008-05-08)3 unknown; - (2004-07-20--2005-02-15)3 member; Delegation for relations with the United States (2004-09-15--2007-03-13)3 substitute; AFET (2004-09-15--2004-11-26)3 member; ENVI (2004-07-21--2007-01-14)3 substitute; LIBE (2004-09-15--2004-11-26)3 member; EMPL (2004-09-16--2007-01-14)3 substitute; TRAN (2004-09-15--2007-01-14)3 substitute; AFCO (2004-07-21--2006-01-09)3
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Sinnott (IND/DEM ),"1 "on behalf of the group"1

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