But Germany's focus on discipline is arguably an attempt to fix a democratic deficit.
European politicians tend to talk about a democratic deficit without defining exactly what they mean.
When, as now, the economy is thriving, the place hardly seems preoccupied with its democratic deficit.
The parliament has long accrued power by arguing that it offers a cure for the democratic deficit in European construction.
Do you accept that there is a democratic deficit then, that people don't have enough say over some of these things?
Indeed the institutional change most needed to remedy Europe's democratic deficit is not in Brussels or Strasbourg but in national capitals.
In normal times such compromises, checks and balances help with the democratic deficit by ensuring that states do not feel too trampled-upon.
The report also voices concerns about cuts at the BBC, saying they might impact on political coverage and contribute to a "so-called democratic deficit".
The European Parliament, self-aggrandising and mediocre, cannot fill the democratic deficit.
Mr Sejersted calls this a "great democratic deficit... but this is a kind of national compromise since Norway decided it did not want to join the EU".
The democratic deficit in Europe was growing, Ms Leadsom said.
The reasons for this democratic deficit have long been debated.
' Nothing about economic problems resulting from the loss of control over monetary policy, or a democratic deficit resulting from the loss of control over those who govern us.
This democratic deficit is reproduced at the European level.
As a consequence, getting the public out to vote for a highly-paid and relatively remote politician, to tackle a democratic deficit they weren't persuaded they had, was always going to be a hard sell.
And I think there is a democratic deficit in this country and it is about how we get power not just from Whitehall to the County Hall or the Town Hall, it's also how do we involve local people at street and neighbourhood level.
They are fundamentally at odds on Medicare and entitlement reform as well as deficit reduction: the Republican plan would balance the budget over the next 10 years, while the Democratic plan reduces the deficit to an amount equivalent to 2.2% of GDP by 2023.
FORBES: The Compromise That Americans Want To Break The Budget Deadlock
The problem is that the Republican Party benefits from having a deficit while the Democratic Party benefits from getting rid of it.
FORBES: Three Pitfalls Facing the Deficit-Reduction Supercommittee
"He's promising a trillion-dollar tax cut and a trip to Mars... and he has a half-trillion-dollar deficit, " said Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean.
Ronald Reagan was said to be a small government type, non-defense discretionary spending somewhat reflected his desires over two terms, but the Democratic-led House voted for deficit spending on an annual basis.
FORBES: In Troubled Times, President Obama Continues to Lead From Behind
The first President Bush and a Democratic Congress came together to reduce the deficit.
WHITEHOUSE: The Country We Believe In: Improving America��s Fiscal Future | The White House
Now, to patch a budget deficit, Michigan's Democratic governor has suggested reincarnating its death tax.
Among other things, Kyl disputed Obama's claims that the Democratic plan won't add to the federal deficit.
This confronts the rot that has entered the Democratic and the Republican parties, and the astronomical deficit that America is suffering from.
He said the Democratic Party still suffered from a significant "values deficit" when compared to Republicans as a result the scandals during the Clinton era.
In the 2010 gubernatorial election, Mr Kasich defeated the Democratic incumbent by promising to address a large budget deficit and stem a tide of job losses.
Democrats expected Conrad to put forward a Democratic budget that would have been the first detailed deficit reduction plan in three years, if passed by the committee.
Did running a large budget deficit make the Russian government as accountable and democratic as the Dutch?
FORBES: With Continued Economic Growth, Russia's Unemployment Rate Hit an All-Time Low in August
As long as this president has a Democratic Senate and a veto pen, there will be no deficit reduction, no serious control of entitlements.
应用推荐