Cem Özdemir, Member of the European Parliament
Cem Özdemir reflects on how stable democracies can afford experimenting with different voting concepts, thresholds for entering the parliament, direct democracy, selection processes in the party etc. The framework of democracy is discussed as enabling change, election is considered a suitable test for the system and one of the major challenges which is pointed at is an inclusive definition of citizenship.
Franck Biancheri, President of the Newropeans
One step towards Political Excellence on European level would be an approach to improve the EU system within its framework. Franck Biancheri proposes the establishment of a trans-European political party with one party programme in all member states to run for European elections.
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, Member of the European Parliament
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff identifies several topics for improving political systems.
For Germany he proposes to strengthen the Parliament vis-à-vis the executive branch, change the recruitment of politicians, increase the staff of MPs, and establish an institutionalised self-reflection.
For the European system he advocates for more transparency in the Council’s decision-making process, for taking subsidiarity more serious, and to change the voting system for the Parliament.
Henrik Bang, Professor of International Relations, University of Copenhagen
Henrik Bang explores the question what it takes to connect democracy and good governance from local to global level. Democracy on the input side is about consensual decision-making, while good governance on the output side is about political action. In many cases, both are mistakenly mixed. He elaborates his argument by using the EU as an example. The EU has a democratic deficit on the input side, but earned capacities for good governance on the output side.
