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Search words: education Cap Euro election spending at 20k for more debate, less waste - Dubsky
national |
eu |
press release
Tuesday June 08, 2004 14:47 by Eoin Dubsky
Peace campaigner and independent MEP candidate for Leinster, Eoin Dubsky, today called for a EUR 20,000 cap on campaign spending for the European elections, to encourage meaningful debate and reduce pollution caused by plastic "corriboard" election posters. "There is no legal limit on campaign spending for the European elections, and consequently the wealthy candidates and parties can afford to manage their public image, avoiding media engagements where they may have to defend their policies and explain what they will do. The much-hyped quarrels between candidates and political parties with almost indistinguishable track records on health, education, foreign policy, and the environment smack of spin doctoring. Independent candidates, and polical parties unable and unwilling to spend their money putting image above substance hardly get a word in edgeways. |
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Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5why not 5,000
Because MEP's can neither be mandated or recalled any discussion about making the election of them more democratic (or even issue based) is a bit meaningless. The reason that it looks like a horse race is because it is a horse race.
Promises made at election time are meaningless as once elected the winner can do what they like so many of then don't even bother putting forward promises to break in the first place. They know the electorate knows they can't be held to these promises and that the whole thing is little more that a Eurovision with a more complete voting system and a bigger prize fund.
Some bodies do have elected delegates rather than representative that carry a mandate and can be recalled. Students Unions are often structured in this way and in at least some of them they deal with this spending issue by having the union print the exact same number of election manifestos and posters for each of the candidates for a token contribution.
The Irish Times website (ireland.com) sent out some questions to every MEP candidate to answer for their website. At the link below you can read what I wrote.
their voting record
http://www.ep-reform.net/reformindex.php
interesting
Check out the Joe Higgins linkhttp://www.ireland.com/focus/euroelection2004/candidates_higginsjoe.html