EU dream proves a nightmare

Direct elections were seen to be the democratic glue that would bind together the new, enlarged EU. The result stunned the establishment: a message of anger and apathy was sent to EU governments. Fifty-five per cent of the people did not vote. Sitting governments everywhere were punished. The German Social Democrats got the lowest vote since the war; French President Jacques Chirac's centre-right movement in France could muster only 17per cent support, compared with the socialists' 29per cent. The leftist opposition moved forward in Italy, and Tony Blair's Labour Party was hammered.

Local elections were held in the UK simultaneously, and Blair's Labour came third, its worst result in almost 90 years.

But while the Conservatives won the most seats in Britain, a new party, the UK Independence Party, which calls for immediate British withdrawal from the EU, got over 20per cent of the vote. This win was mainly at the expense of the Conservatives, who are seen to be too moderate on Europe by many of their supporters. Watch the UK Tories become more anti-Europe.

The European struggle is mainly between the federalists, who are perceived to want a United States of Europe, and those nationalists who want a United Nations of Europe. The voter turnout in those enthusiastic new EU members, Poland and other ex-communist east European states, was less than 38 per cent. Many voted in extreme-nationalist, anti-EU candidates.

Europe has been a dangerous place for centuries. Its civil wars have dragged the world into global conflict twice in a century, with real wars and a costly Cold War. Now the Soviet Union has gone (a historic anomaly that will puzzle scholars for centuries), there is a wider, more hopeful, prosperous Europe.

During the Cold War taxpayers could put up with a costly bureaucracy in Europe. Now that Europe comprises 25 countries, there will be greater scrutiny of the EU's powers. In Holland, a video from the new Transparent Europe Party revealing MPs' perks and dubious expenses provoked anger and even more cynicism among voters. From the IRA's political wing, Sinn Fein, to Poland's self-defence party, there are now more than 90 of the 723 Euro MPs who are passionately anti-Europe. One of them, a British TV talk-show host, Robert Kilroy-Silk, who is supported by the former Dynasty actress Joan Collins, has said he is going to Brussels to wreck it. Will this be a permanent feature of European politics? Perhaps it will evolve into a states-versus-federal power argument, which has been central to US politics since the American union was created.

Maybe it's a healthy wake-up call. Voters in continental Europe endure slow growth and high unemployment, but the same voters hate the policies that could correct these problems - attacking bloated welfare systems and bureaucracies and costly protectionist policies.

Public opinion polls have revealed a summit fatigue, and disillusionment with the endless leaders' conferences - not with the issues such conferences are concerned about, namely education, health, employment, and law and order.

Leaders love the international photo opportunities, but so concerned was Tony Blair with this perception that he explained most of his time was spent on local issues, not the world stage.

Perhaps this is a lesson for leaders like Australian Prime Minister John Howard and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clarke, who face elections shortly. All politics is local. Given a choice, constituents would rather have a new school than their leaders receive a Nobel Prize.