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Published time: 4 May, 2017 16:54 Edited time: 4 May, 2017 16:56

Only around half of young Europeans think of democracy as the best form of government, a new survey has revealed, while three-quarters see the EU as more of an economic pact rather than a group of nations sharing core European values.

The YouGov survey, the results of which were published on Thursday, was commissioned by the German TUI Foundation, which promotes dialogue on European issues. Between February and March, it polled 6,000 people aged between 16 and 26 from France, Britain, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, and Spain.

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Overall, only 52 percent of the respondents saw democracy as the best form of government. That figure was higher in Germany (62 percent) and Greece (66 percent), the birthplace of democracy, while France, Poland, and Italy were most skeptical (42, 45, and 42 percent, respectively). The latter three countries are home to strong populist, nationalist movements, some of which have been described as far-right.

Additionally, 76 percent saw the EU as more of an economic alliance than a group of countries with common cultural interests (30 percent). A mere seven percent described those values as religion and Christian culture.

The value-based European cohesive forces have for a long time been taken for granted, said Thomas Ellerbeck, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the TUI Foundation. The European Youth Study shows that this apparently self-evident condition no longer applies.

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A Europe whose value is seen, above all, in the advantages of the common market threatens to become interchangeable and arbitrary. It is therefore important to discuss the shared values of Europe.

Over a fifth (21 percent) of respondents supported leaving the EU, a figure that was highest in Greece (31 percent) but lowest in Spain and Germany (12 percent). Only 22 percent of Germans feel the EU should cede more power back to regional governments, way under the overall average of 38 percent. Support for greater national sovereignty was highest in Greece (60 percent) and the UK (44 percent), which last year voted for Brexit.

In principle, young adults support the European idea, but they are increasingly suspicious when it comes to concrete measures and short-term projects, said Markus Spittler of the WZB Berlin Science Research Center, commenting on the surveys results. They can be called critical Europeans. They are critical because they question specific policies and institutional arrangements.

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Half of young Europeans skeptical of democracy survey - RT

MANILA - Detained senator Leila de Lima on Friday urged the Commission on Human Rights to remain steadfast as the country faced a "crisis of democracy."

De Lima, a former CHR chairperson, lauded the commission for safeguarding democracy.

The CHR recently uncovered a secret detention facility for drug suspects at a police station in Tondo, Manila.

"Indeed, the CHR is facing its toughest challenge as our nation is plunged into a crisis--a crisis of democracy where citizens are silenced amid the prevalence of flagrant violations of our fundamental rights; where lies and rumors are fabricated to poison our minds by some factors in our State for the sake of their political and personal agendas," De Lima said.

De Lima served as CHR chair from 2008 to 2010. She investigated alleged vigilante killings in Davao City under then mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

The Senator was arrested last February over allegations she received kickbacks from detained drug lords.

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De Lima says 'crisis of democracy' is CHR's challenge - ABS-CBN News

2017-05-05 08:03

Thomas Paine, the great 18th century philosopher and journalist, wrote an excellent essay challenging the English parliamentarian Edmund Burkes attack on the French Revolution.

Burke had published a book and made speeches in support of the rule of monarchs. Paine, on the other hand, was a great supporter of democracy and universal human rights.

In his essay, The Rights of Man, which he shared with US President George Washington, Paine said of Burkes book: It is darkness attempting to illuminate light.

One couldnt help but recall this essay when three people who fancy themselves experts on things they have proved themselves utterly incapable of understanding, attempted to fool the public.

The three habitually mouth all things darkness in an attempt to illuminate light. But their recent conduct and remarks have reached another level of darkness.

First, Jacob Zuma who said if he was a journalist or columnist he would write a column to educate citizens about the workings of democracy. His statement was a poor attempt at PR after he was booed at the Cosatu May Day rally in Mangaung. He said it was part of democracy.

It is true booing is part of free expression in a democratic system. But the workers who booed him and the journalists covering the event for the benefit of the public didnt need his lecture on democracy.

And while it is also true that journalists play an important role educating the public, it was rich of Zuma to imply that he understood the democratic system better.

In their reporting and commentary, journalists have consistently attempted to lecture him about how to govern in a democratic system. They have tried in vain to illustrate to him the importance of following the rules of state from Nkandla to nuclear.

But after eight years in power, he still runs the government like a stranger who has just dropped from Mars.

Concerned citizens and state institutions such as the courts, the public protector and lately Parliament have also tried to knock sense into his head. All to no avail. And yet, like darkness attempting to illuminate light, he sees himself as an expert on democracy and governance.

In his Constitutional Court papers where he is arguing against the secret ballot in a mooted parliamentary vote of no confidence in him, he dismisses the opinions of people like former President Thabo Mbeki and others on the basis that they are not experts in governance.

Zuma insinuates that he understands governance better than anyone else including Mbeki - who participated in the drafting of the Constitution - while Zumas job, according to late Minister Kader Asmal, was to note the hands of those who wanted to speak. Asmal also wrote in his memoir that Zuma, unlike Mbeki, never read Cabinet memos prepared for him.

Zumas court submission, which contains lies about ANC leaders having apologised for criticising his recent Cabinet reshuffle, is another proof of darkness attempting to illuminate light. If he knew better about how government works, he would have known that its criminal to mislead a court of law.

Second, there was Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe who is as frail as his countrys economy. He told the World Economic Forum in Durban that Zimbabwe is not poor. He suggested Zimbabwe is the second most developed country after South Africa.

Mugabes remarks are an insult to Zimbabweans who are scattered all over the world trying to eke out a living. Some of them risk life and limb while crossing the Limpopo river to fight for the crumbs of menial jobs in a dog-eat-dog South African labour market.

Mugabe elevated his political interests above those of the citizens to the point where he led his country to ruin. Had he been a selfless leader, he would have long retired and handed over power smoothly. But, sadly, in the context of darkness attempting to illuminate light, his remarks make perfect sense.

Third, the ever-present and overbearing Hlaudi Motsoeneng had planned to continue on his publicity stunt road show that is a metaphor of what has gone wrong in our Republic. Academic lecture, born intellectual, aspirant president, expert on the undesirableness of the number of political parties in Parliament, the man with that thing and the self-proclaimed lifetime boss of the SABC - however else he describes himself.

Motsoeneng was at it again recently attempting to (allegedly) motivate pupils at Eqinisweni Secondary School in Ivory Park, Gauteng, to focus on their studies. How can someone who lied about having a matric certificate, almost destroyed our public broadcaster and is facing a string of charges, be of any assistance to our children? It would have been a classic case of darkness attempting to illuminate light.

Fortunately, Gauteng education officials stopped him before spewing his poison. Many thanks to those officials who made the right call. They understand that only light illuminates.

- Mpumelelo Mkhabela is a fellow at the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) at the University of Pretoria.

Disclaimer: News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24.

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No thanks for the lessons in democracy - News24

Op-Ed: Whitman's Threatened Democracy Whitman Pioneer On the other hand, democracy, defined as the political structure in which the people rule and govern themselves, requires the very opposite values: equality, inclusion, and collaboration with others to foster a shared future. Democracy is therefore ...

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Op-Ed: Whitman's Threatened Democracy - Whitman Pioneer

PORVOO, Finland Finland's government held its weekly cabinet meeting in front of the glare of a live audience for the first time on Thursday, part of celebrations for the Nordic country's first hundred years of independence.

Ministers said they want to find ways of increasing openness and dialogue with voters after a low turnout -- 58.8 percent -- in April's local government elections.

At the meeting, which lasted about an hour, ministers took decisions on public office nominations and a body to handle compensation payments to forest owners for damages inflicted by wild animals.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila said it was business as usual.

"It seemed like a combination of playacting and actual decision-making", said Aki Saariaho from Open Network Finland which promotes open democracy.

"People should have more opportunities to interact with elected officials. But this is a good start."

Almost 600 people watched the cabinet in action in Porvoo, a town by the Baltic Sea where the first parliament of Grand Duchy of Finland convened in 1809 after becoming an autonomous part of the Russian Empire. It remained a part of the empire until 1917.

Today, Finland is ranked among the world's top ten most democratic countries, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

At the meeting, some ministers said they believed online tools could be used to deepen direct democracy at local government level, such as via online referendums, and supported lowering the voting age from 18 to 16.

Finance Minister Petteri Orpo said that cyber security would, however, need to be enhanced before online votes could be introduced. Social media already gave voters a platform to critique government, he said.

"For now, it's good that social media storms keep us awake and offer us kind of referendums that support the decision-making."

(Reporting by Tuomas Forsell and Jussi Rosendahl; editing by Richard Lough)

NEW YORK U.S. President Donald Trump held his first-face-to-face meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday, and declared that they "get along great," following an acrimonious phone call in January that strained ties between the two allies.

CARACAS Supporters of jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez held a vigil outside his prison demanding to see him on Thursday after rumors about his health rattled the protest-hit country where the death toll from anti-government unrest rose to 36.

WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel this month, kicking off his first foreign trip, where he will work to reinvigorate traditional alliances in the region.

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Finland holds public cabinet meeting to promote democracy - Reuters