By Martin Banks - 15th February 2012
You have never put yourself to the vote
Bruno Gollnisch
Italian premier Mario Monti was involved in a heated row with MEPs over his "legitimacy" when he addressed parliament's plenary on Wednesday.
Monti, a former EU commissioner, came under fire from some MEPs for what they branded a "lack of democratic legitimacy" since taking over from Silvio Berlusconi as the country's prime minister.
Monti was addressing MEPs for the first time since he succeeded the disgraced Berlusconi and many MEPs were gushing in their praise of his efforts to prop up the ailing Italian economy.
But Francesco Speroni, joint leader of the eurosceptic EFD group, criticised the fact that Monti had not been elected.
He said Monti had taken on the role of "economic enforcer" without "having been subject to a democratic election".
Speroni tried to continue his criticism but had his microphone cut off by parliament's president Martin Schulz.
Further condemnation of Monti came from Bruno Gollnisch, the French nationalist deputy, who questioned Monti's "democratic legitimacy".
He told Monti, "You have never put yourself to the vote so your democratic function seems to be limited."
Monti had caused anger among some members when, in a speech to the plenary, he mounted an attack on those member states who, he said, had claimed that a more integrationist approach to EU affairs necessarily meant the creation of an "EU super state".
On this, Monti said, "It is only a deeply superficial and insular culture that might naively consider that further European integration means a super state.
"This is not the case at all and European integration need not, as some would suggest, be to the detriment of democracy."
Addressing Speroni and Gollnisch, he said, "It is true that I cannot claim to have democratic legitimacy derived from elected office. I was requested to carry out the job I am doing, an exciting job, and did not take it upon myself to do it."
"But I would ask Mr Gollnisch if he had he been asked to undertake a similar job at the head of the French government whether he would have turned down that opportunity saying he would only do it had he won an election?"
At the end of his speech, Monti was given a 30-second standing ovation and later MEPs crowded round to shake his hand.
Earlier, group leaders heaped praise on Monti for his attempts to turn round the Italian economy with a series of recent fiscal measures.
ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt said he had put Italy "back on its feet", adding, "Italy is not Greece and Greece would do well to look at what is now happening in Italy under Mr Monti's leadership."
He also suggested that, in future, Monti might be suitable to become a "roving minister" to resolve similar economic problems in other member states.
S&D leader Hannes Swoboda told Monti that Europe had "high hopes" for his term in office and that Italy "looks very different" under his leadership.
EPP leader Joseph Daul praised Monti for the economic reforms which, he said, would create jobs and stimulate growth.
German deputy Rebecca Harms, the joint leader of the Greens group, said that under Monti both Italian and European politics would become "more civilised".
Elsewhere, ECR leader Martin Callanan said his group would support the efforts to revive the Italian economy and repeated his demand for an "orderly" withdrawal from the euro for Greece.
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