I know enough about European politics to know you've got a lot of crazy people who make their way onto the ballot.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The participation in European elections was always not very exciting. People are very interested in European issues, but they don't see the person who is representing Europe.
Prime Minister, I see you've already mastered the essential craft of the European politician, namely, the ability to say one thing in this chamber and a very different thing to your home electorate.
The European Union, which is not directly responsible to voters, provides an irresistible opportunity for European elites to seize power in order to impose their own vision on a newly socially regimented Europe.
If we were to have a presidential election in Europe it would be an event that would spark a huge interest in people from Lisbon to Helsinki, just like national elections. And it would create a completely different political setting in Europe.
I do a lot of referendums. They can't talk back. They don't have wives. They don't have friends who tell you how to run the campaign. They are supported by special interests, so there's a lot of money in them.
When politics is interesting, people go vote.
A lot of politicians say they want to get people out to vote; sometimes you can't totally believe they really want that.
People feel that the EU is a one-way process, a great machine that sucks up decision-making from national parliaments to the European level until everything is decided by the EU. That needs to change.
As politicians we have to react to the fact that many people do not feel that they can relate to the EU.
When I say things that sound insane, like only the smartest million people should have the right to vote, well, I mean that.