The Great Debate UK
Imagining an election in the United States of Europe
By Kathleen Brooks. The opinions expressed are her own.
The aftermath of the U.S. presidential election has seen some tentative steps towards political harmony. After a bruising campaign with Democrats and Republicans at each others throats for most of the last two years, President Obama declared in his victory speech that there is no such thing as blue or red states, there is only the United States of America.
This is what makes America one country. Different states may have various social and cultural attitudes, but at the end of the day each person identifies themselves as American, and they are proud. Likewise, the euro zone is made up of disparate member states with different cultures, attitudes and fiscal stances. But that is where the similarity ends. The U.S. presidential election was a stark reminder just how far we from a United States of Europe.
To highlight this, take a moment to imagine what an election in the U.S.E. would look like. Who would run for office? What would be the major issues that dominated an election? Would the people in Europe vote in a harmonious group or would there be regional variations as you see in the U.S., with the two coasts mostly held by the Democrats while the middle is dominated by the Republicans.
Let’s take a closer look at the first point – who would run for office? Right now you could imagine a neat North and South split – with the frugal North vs. the spendthrift South. The campaign trail could be fairly fiery with the North campaigning on a platform of austerity and the South pledging to do away with austerity and budget cuts instead proclaiming to boost growth.
