> conditional on things like only voting in left wing parties
Thefuck? The EU has been making everything conditional on privatization, deregulation and generally adopting more capitalist models in practically every aspect of government. You're calling this left wing??
A few examples of the demands: sell off our largest and state-owned bank; decouple, deregulate and privatize electricity generation and sale; open the up publicly-owned railways to private operators; increase the minimum age of retirement...
The EU isn't exactly famous for its love of deregulation, you know. Quite the opposite, especially when it comes to tech.
But I'm referring to the withdrawal of cohesion funds from countries like Poland and Hungary under newly invented rules like needing to share "EU values". These values aren't defined or written down anywhere, but the only countries that seem to violate them are those with conservative parties in power. The moment the conservatives are no longer in power, suddenly the country is in compliance with "EU values" again.
You know that's not what's happening. The EU is withholding money because those countries have regressed democratically, with the executive controlling the judiciary and press, and oppressing the political opposition.
Plenty of conservative governments are in the EU. Freedom and democracy - which mean an independent judiciary and free and independent press - are not left-wing ideas!
Thefuck? The EU has been making everything conditional on privatization, deregulation and generally adopting more capitalist models in practically every aspect of government. You're calling this left wing??
A few examples of the demands: sell off our largest and state-owned bank; decouple, deregulate and privatize electricity generation and sale; open the up publicly-owned railways to private operators; increase the minimum age of retirement...