Don't you just love how the Slovak parliment is being asked to vote again after giving the "wrong" answer? Just like in an irish referendum. Why not abolish voting altogether in EU countries? It would certainly cut costs if all decisions were taken by unelected eurocrats.

Well they can vote it down again (just mlike the Irish could have). It's not like EF where you can never ever come back on decisions you made earlier.

That's not very democratic though, is it?

Why is it undemocratic to ask a question more than once? How else would policy changes work when a new government is voted in somewhere and starts to change laws introduced by the previous government?

continually asking the same question until you get the answer you want? You can't seriously consider that to be democratic?

Nobody forces you to change your answer by asking the question again. My one year old son can answer "No" to protracted attempts to get him to do something. MPs and/or voters are unable to? Don't think so.

I assume that when they get the answer they want they will stop giving people the opportunity to revote though. THAT'S the bit which is undemocratic

Tulpe J concurred.

in the meantime voters will put under pressure to change their minds with a big carrot and an even bigger stick

it's not. but that's what you signed up for when you ceded sovereignty to a supra-national institution like the EU.

besides, those Eurocrats like their plush life in Brussels...

when exactly did that happen?

As opposed to saying you can't change your mind??? People are strange like that, way back in the day when Switzerland had the referendum to join what was then called EEC, I met people who told me that the voted against it, but were hope it would go through

Jim

The situation isn't quite as simple as you paint it - the vote result had a lot more to do with Slovak internal politics than the bailout itself. From the Economist:

(Source: http://www.economist.com/blogs/easte...nd-euro-crisis)

and

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15271141)

It would appear that the majority in the Parliament are in favour of the bailout, but were (quite openly) using this as an opportunity to get their way in other domestic affairs.

The opposition in Slovakia wanted to have new elections, and achieved them. And now is ready to co-operated with the government still in office to vote in favour of the "umbrella"

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The major opposition party actually was in favour of the proposal but wanted to force new elections, what they got. They do not have any reason to vote it down again

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Democracy is that a major opposition party who voted NO in order to force new elections now can vote YES according to its actual positions

Democracy also is that this deal has two winners, the major government party and the major opposition party, who may well end up as members of a "grand coalition"

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"people" ? it was not a vote by the people but a parliamentary vote, and so also will be the second vote

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politicians are people too, aren't they? Unless Caligula has made a comeback in Slovak politics

About "politicians are people too, aren't they? "

Jury is still out on that one