A Brotherhood of Nations(in the Manson family)

German politicians humiliate a Czech President and give him a new flag to fly. 1938? 2008.

That was a translation from a statement made on President Klaus' website.

The bullying of President Klaus of the Czech Republic is of great concern. While it is a practice that countries fly the European Union Flag (I will not conflate the EU with all of Europe), the concept of sovereignty would allow each country to decide its own actions.

In this case, President Klaus, as a democratically elected Czech official, had the right to decide if a flag would be flown. The EU officials gave him a new flag (Klaus was famed as an Euroskeptic and had decided not to fly the EU flag from public buildings) and hectored him about his domestic policies.

"Daniel Cohn-Bendit MEP (co-president of the Greens): I brought you a flag,
which - as we heard - you have everywhere here at the Prague Castle. It is the
flag of the European Union, so I will place it here in front of you."

"[On Lisbon Treaty:] I don't care about your opinions on it. I want to know what
you are going to do if the Czech Chamber of Deputies and the Senate approve it.
Will you respect the will of the representatives of the people? You will have to
sign it."

"President Vaclav Klaus: I must say that nobody has talked to me in such a
style and tone for the past 6 years. You are not on the barricades in Paris here. I
thought that these manners ended for us 18 years ago but I see I was wrong."

The self-obsession of some of the EU partisans might be seen from this part of the exchange.

"President Vaclav Klaus: This is incredible. I have never experienced anything
like this before.
Daniel Cohn-Bendit: Because you have not experienced me.."

The supposed concern for democracy becomes questionable when internal political decisions in a country not noted for discrimination becomes a matter for EU hectoring.

"Daniel Cohn-Bendit: We have always had good talks with President Havel.
And what will you tell me about your attitude towards the anti-discrimination law?"

The ostensible acknowledgment of sovereignty by EU officials is compounded by their lack of respect for the workings of democracy in their own countries.

"President Vaclav Klaus: Thank you for this experience which I gained from
this meeting. I did not think anything like this is possible and have not
experienced anything like this for the past 19 years. I thought it was a matter of
the past, that we live in democracy, but it is post-democracy, really, which rules
the EU.
You mentioned the European values. The most important value is freedom and
democracy. The citizens of the EU member states are concerned about freedom
and democracy, above all. But democracy and freedom are losing ground in the
EU today. It is necessary to strive for them and fight for them.
I would like to emphasize, above all, what most citizens of the Czech Republic
feel, that for us the EU membership has no alternative. It was me who submitted
the EU application in the year 1996 and who signed the Accession treaty in
2003. But the arrangements within the EU have many alternatives. To take one
of them as sacrosanct, untouchable, about which it is not possible to doubt or
criticize it, is against the very nature of Europe.

As for the Lisbon Treaty, I would like to mention that it is not ratified in
Germany either. The Constitutional Treaty, which was basically the same as the
Lisbon Treaty, was refused in referendums in other two countries. If Mr.
Crowley speaks of an insult to the Irish people, then I must say that the biggest
insult to the Irish people is not to accept the result of the Irish referendum. In
Ireland I met somebody who represents a majority in his country. You, Mr.
Crowley, represent a view which is in minority in Ireland. That is a tangible
result of the referendum.
Brian Crowley MEP: With all respect, Mr. President, you will not tell me what
the Irish think. As an Irishman, I know it best"

Given the margin by which the Irish rejected the Lisbon treaty, it would seem to indicate that the claims by Mr. Crowley that most Irish want the treaty to be dubious.

ADDENDUM OUTSIDE THE TRANSCRIPT:
Daniel Cohn-Bendit had something to add to Czech reporters after the meeting:
“Your president is a toxic virus of Czech politics.”

The demand for a dignified treatment of others in the EU (made in a later discussion) does not seem to extend to the Czechs. One can only be skeptical of such a system.



The supposed modernism of the EU was based on mutual respect, democracy, and a peaceful resolution of disputes. That is not the case in practice and this in part likely stems from the actions of an ideological group who view the EU the same way others saw the Soviet Union. Not as opponents but as idealists who hoped to create a perfect society and were willing to override democracy, sovereignty, and individual rights to do so.

The result is that the famous claim that "George Bush is undermining the international system that has been built up since the Treaty of Westphalia" might be better used to describe the EU.