Be careful what you wish for. In my last blog entry I quoted Borja, an ECHO colleague, who said that if there were a place to go through a strong earthquake, this place was Chile. Well, Borja´s wish came true. We experienced a 7.2 earthquake – in my case, while I was in the Hall of Honour of the Chilean Parliament waiting for the start of the Presidential hand-over ceremony I was attending on behalf of the European Commission. The room hosted heads of state and other dignitaries, all of us anticipating the arrival of the outgoing president Michelle Bachelet at any moment. Suddenly, the floor started to move, the lamps on the ceiling trembled and the flowers that decorated the presidential table began to shake. There were at least three shocks, and the third quake felt like the strongest of all.
I have to give credit to Borja. Chile is indeed well prepared for earthquakes. There was no sense of panic among those present. Some of my neighbours were speculating on the magnitude of the earthquake while the sound system of the Parliament just announced that “if you were to leave the room you would be duly informed”. It was not necessary because the Palace of the Parliament, like most of Chile, is built to last.
So is democracy. Not even a 7.2 earthquake could prevent the inauguration of the new president and a cheering crowd from celebrating yet another democratic handover of power. Outgoing President Bachelet decorated the incoming President Piñera with the band of Chilean national colours that symbolizes the highest power of the nation. Then they stood shoulder to shoulder, and sang the national anthem, together with all their fellow citizens in the room.
It was a moving ceremony, in many ways. It was a lesson of democracy, a symbol of national unity, and a strong vote of confidence of the Chilean people in the competence of their authorities.
After the shocks and the ceremonies the work begins. President Piñera is determined to tackle the hard task of reconstructing the country. This was his message to all of us, the foreign guests, assembled for an inaugural lunch (after which he flew to the earthquake-affected areas). I wished him best of luck, and pledged the support of Europe. We are welcome to help, and to learn from this experience.
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Dear Commissioner Georgieva :
Thanks for visiting Chile and their new Administration .
The bridge between the EU and the Americas needs new leadership, because as you know the new USA Administration is not very interested, their contacts with Latin America are very rare and cold ( State Sec. Clinton is trying very hard, but …) …so will Europa take the lead ?
when we read that China is making deals for oil , gas and minerals in Latin America , we wonder: are they blind and deaf in Washington D.C. ? why not make deals for jobs and growth ? if they are in the same Continent, why stay away while China makes vital commodities deals ?
Europa should help drill for oil and gas off Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina, their Atlantic coasts are ready and full, very deep but ready, so why not team up with them and create wealth ?
At the same time, all Latin America and the Caribbean is perfect for solar and wind – wave projects, why not work together ? if we don’t, China will do it, they are very smart and they will do it very soon if they see no action from us , so why not make a move right now ?
A cooperation in energy and trade , in jobs and technology between Europa and Latin America is good for all, they got natural resources and Europa has know-how, manufacturing and seed capital, why not do something smart , JUST and FAIR and creative? why not now ?
We need new leaders, new ideas, and we need to train the new generations about global cooperation, about opening new businesses around the world, opening new markets , new enterprises,new companies, to create jobs and growth, and here your energy here is vital. Thanks !
Kristalina,
Lovely name by the way. I admire your calm – I would have been out the door like a shot when the quake started!
Did you not experience a sense of irony though to be welcoming a democratically elected president when you yourself have no electoral mandate?
regards
geoff
Well, I also hate the thing for which the euphemism “democratic deficit” has been invented by EU newspeakers, but still – aren’t you a bit strict here, geoff? Kristalina is in the position of a minister, and these are not directly elected anywhere in the world, as far as I know. The same applies, for example, to “prime minister” Barroso. Even presidents are not necessarily elected directly by the citizens, in many European countries they are elected by the parliament. Our “president” Rompuy, in fact, does have been elected by EU citizens, the problem is that by only two of them (certain Mrs Merkel and certain Mr Sarkozy). That’s the main issue, together with the fact that the European Parliament is a parliament only by name.
Dear Commissioner Georgieva:
Chile’s earthquake got all Chileans more together ,so can we find a way to unite the EU more while facing the massive economic Greek crisis? Cooperation and smart crisis response demands that EU leaders , and specially the EU Parliament, stands up united and asks the right people : the same ones that created the problem in the first place :
Why not this option as part of the solution :
The Root of the Greek Problem is the 2008 Financial Derivatives Disaster, the result of the 1999-2000 USA Deregulation Act ( the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act ) , by which USA Banks and others could sell high risk Insurance without reserve capital , swaps, CDS, naked shorts and all kinds of Derivatives , etc., the ones who destroyed the Greek Economy , so it’s only fair for the EU Parliament , the EU Commission, EU Council and the EU Central Bank to ask all these same BANKS , INVESTMENT BANKS , PRIVATE EQUITY PARTNERS,LLC, LP and HEDGE-FUNDS to put up a bond or long-term loan for the 50 billion euros the Greek economy needs this year and the 2 trillion euros the EU lost in these last 10 years of high risk investments and fake profits, because if they were there for the good times they got to be there for the bad times too, EUROPE MUST , FIRST AND BEFORE THE IMF OR EU STATES , ASK THESE BANKERS TO PUT UP THE MONEY ! , why no one is asking the main actors : Goldman Sachs and others ? it’s only fair , but which EU leaders have what it takes to stand-up to these incompetent and greedy manipulators ?
Why not make these same operators part of the solution ? why not a pool of money including funds from all these smart Bankers and Hedge-Funds managers and partners that made hundreds of millions of euros in profits, bonuses and fees ?
Dear Commissioner , real Capitalism is to be part of profits and loses, not just profits, there must be responsibility and fairness, the Rule of Law.
Gabriel,
Your’e missing the point though. Ministers are directly elected in the UK – not as a minister I accept but as an MP first & they can’t become a minister unless they are an elected MP.
This is what is missing with the Commission. Kristalina has managed to achieve a position of enormous executive power without the obvious inconvenience of having to face competition at the ballot box. She is a political appointee as are most if not all of her contemporaries. Cathy Ashton likewise has never held an elected position & doesn’t now.
Rompuy isn’t “my” president by the way, he is an appointee chosen behind closed doors at a closed meeting over dinner.
regards
geoff
Geoff,
Across the EU there are very different election laws and understandings of how MPs, ministers and prime ministers should be elected. Thus it’s unreasonable to think that we could agree on a way to directly appoint Commissioners. If we were, there would almost never be a Bulgarian commissioner as Bulgarians are so few related to Germans, Poles or French. That may seem OK for you, but definitely not for me.
The Commissioners are approved by the MEPs. As we saw, when a person is not seen as fit for the job, the MEPs that we elected see that he/she does not get the position. They have that power and we in turn have the power to elect people with the same principals as ours.
Regarding Commissioner Georgieva’s mandate, it is delegated by the MEPs that approved her unanimously. I guess you can’t deny that. In a sense you are not denouncing her being in that office, but the system that got her there. By assuming that you are from the UK, that doesn’t surprise me. May I just remind you that Chile is not a union, doesn’t have 27 countries that were at war just 2 generations ago, speaks (mostly) one language and has only one election law to deal with.
Greetings,
Boyan
Здравейте г-жо Георгиева!
Малко са хората на този свят, които са ме трогвали до сълзи с човечност. Още по-малко са тези, които са ме карали да се гордея, че съм българка.
Поздравявам Ви за куража да поемете отговорността да сте българка в този труден за страната ни момент.
Пиша на български, защото не знам английски, но обещавам, че ще науча.
Бъдете винаги така заразително усмихната!
поздрави от България -Росица Христова
Boyan,
I think your logic is a bit skewed. The commissioners aren’t elected – they aren’t even MEPs. I’m disenfranchised because people I have no democratic control over have significant power over the way I live my life. I didn’t vote them in & can’t vote them out.
The MEPs don’t elect the Commissioners – they approve somebody else’s choice – again no democratic representation. I can’t even vote for an MEP personally I have to block vote for a group.
You can’t delegate a mandate anymore than you can delegate virginity – because it is personal to the electee.
regards
geoff
Здравейте г-жо Комисар!
Имам предложение: след като блога е на българския комисар, защо написаното в него освен на английски не бъде преведено и на български, за да могат всички българи да четат и пишат в него. Освен всичко искам да мога да изразявам мнение, да казвам какво мисля. Надявам се, че лично четете всичко, което се пише в блога.
И накрая ние българите имаме един комисар, нямаме сто!? При последните социологически изследвания извън правителството Вие сте личността, която се радва на 66% популярност сред населението на страната.
поздрави Роси