They do not represent us. A Greek tragedy in two acts.

Going through the analysis that the so called ‘Indignados’ undertake on the current situation of the EU feels somehow familiar. The claims on the democratic deficit of the Union and the lack of a real accountability are among the favorite topics to be discussed in the Brussels arena, be it in a brain packed classroom in some elitist institution or around a beer in one of the many city’s Brasseries.

It could not be otherwise: the two main mottos of the movement originated last March in Spain have for long been ‘They do not represent us’ and ‘We are not merchandise in the hands of bankers and politicians’. And, with a EU currently at the centre of all economic controversies and a growing popular detachment to the European cause, what better political entity to address their claims to than the Brussels headquarted Union?

And yet, neither is the message that the ‘Indignados’ send to the European Union a clear one, nor is the response of the institutions seen as a consistent reaction to their concerns. The Greek inspired popular assemblies meet the inscrutable European bureaucracy. A headless movement trying to encompass the voice of the ‘Polis’ meets a countless number of institutions, DGs, Agencies, Governments and Departments each claiming to represent 500 million of Europeans.

And it is in this atypical exchange of ideas, in the relationship the popular movement seeks (not) to establish with the Public Administration where the political interest of the phenomenon lies. As in a Greek tragedy, the members of the Chorus arrive to the Pantheon (Brussels) after long weeks of marching. There, they get all the attention of the ‘Archons’, eager to hear their proposals. They are received in the European Parliament, conferences and debates requiring their presence are organized, the European Commission puts forward the efforts of the Union to tackle the roots and consequences of the financial crisis (CDS regulation, reinforcement of the 2020 Strategy, the European Social Fund). They even get messages of sympathy from the two main actors of this European drama: Barroso and Van Rompuy ‘understand’ their ‘legitimate’ claims, but can do nothing about it, desolés.

One by one, the thespians in this tragedy turn towards the Chorus of anonymous citizens as if to ask ‘what do you want’. The response of the ‘Indignados’ is always the same: they want a real democracy, one that provides direct links and accountability between the politicians and the citizens. They want, as Schumpeter said, a European Union who strikes a real balance between the market and social policies. They want the institutions to act on the causes and effects of the financial crisis and to put an end to the desperate situation of many people around Europe. They want to know who does what and why. They want to choose who does what and why. They are not interested in doing politics, they are the polis and want their elected representatives to do their job. And how? That is up to them, but always on the premise of working for the citizens and not for the markets.

What the ‘Indignados’ want from the European Union is, in sum, not different from what they have been defending on the streets of Madrid, Rome, New York or Melbourne. No concrete proposals are presented because this has never been the intention of the movement. In turn, neither can be the European Union’s response any different from those expressed by the rest of Public Administrations around the world. No specific actions tackling the popular claims have been presented; no Route Plans, no set of solutions have been put together, arguably because in order to address the main concerns expressed in Sol and beyond, the system would need to experiment a Copernican turn not likely to be taken in the near future. What, in fairness, is not (at least, not only) the fault of the EU. But neither is the fault of the million people who have seen their life style and hopes drastically deteriorated since the financial crisis began.

Whether the actors in this piece will come to a common understanding and whether the citizen’s Choir will be able to influence the way decisions are taken in the heart of the European Union, only time will tell. Until then, a growing murmur spreads around in the audience ‘Silence, the people has talked’.

Choir exits left towards backstage. The curtain closes.