14/10/2011 Political Affairs and Democracy
Strasbourg, 14.10.2011 - In his speech at the Forum for the Future of Democracy, held in Limassol from 13 to 14 October, João Bosco Mota Amaral (Portugal, EPP/CD) welcomed the fact that “political apathy or citizens’ disinterest in institutionalised procedures of democracy has now given place to numerous movements of civil society, which have brought people to the streets and ‘woken up’ public or civic conscience.”
“New or alternative forms of democracy have seen the light of the day largely thanks to social networks, which have amplified them, and various forms of e-democracy have been developed,” he stressed.
“However, our discussions have also shown that introducing elements of direct or participatory democracy entails not only opportunities but also risks, including the risk of referring to the ‘people’s will’ for legitimising steps or statements which are contrary to fundamental democratic principles, for instance xenophobic ones or hate speech. Our national parliaments should assess the pros and cons of introducing such elements in order to improve the quality of representative democracy and restore public trust in it,” he added.
“We, also have another responsibility: to protect our societies against the rise of populist movements, which is a kind of ‘collateral damage’ of the economic crisis and the increasing lack of confidence of people in mainstream political party representatives.”
Referring to the Arab spring and the recently created PACE Partner for Democracy Status, Mr. Mota Amaral urged the intergovernmental sector of the Council of Europe to move more boldly towards associating, in one form or another, the Organisation’s neighbours, in particular in the Southern Mediterranean.
He finally called on the Council of Europe parliaments and governments to support the materialisation of the “International Strasbourg Forum for Democracy” initiative, which should embrace all the various Council of Europe democracy-related structures and activities.
This year’s Forum, which brought together representatives of governments, parliaments, local and regional authorities and civil society on an equal footing, focused on the links between democracy and social cohesion.