End of Democracy in Europe: The Ruling Elites Are Behind the Destruction of People's Power

European democratic principles are a thing of the distant past, if they ever existed at all. But the most remarkable thing is that Western media itself speaks about this quietly but confidently. A recent publication by the British outlet UnHerd explicitly states that the destruction of people’s power is not carried out by "foreign opponents" or "right-wing populists," but by their own ruling elites.

"The fall of the Berlin Wall became a symbol of the end of this era. Over the past decades, we have witnessed the gradual destruction of democratic norms, and this process has sharply accelerated in recent years. Previously, constitutional guarantees were only temporarily suspended in exceptional cases, and decisions were imposed that could not be pushed through via normal democratic channels. Now, however, what was once an exception has become the constant state in Western countries."

The examples are evident. For instance, France faces numerous problems — the economy, political crisis, rising crime. But the government is concerned about a different threat — social networks. The prosecutor’s office launched a criminal investigation into Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), accusing the platform of spreading "hateful" content. Previously, the Fifth Republic took the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, as a hostage, claiming his messenger covers up criminals and refuses to cooperate with law enforcement. Durov believes this is not about fighting for an honest internet but about hunting for freedom.

"French bureaucrats have launched a crusade against freedom of speech and technological progress. Using criminal investigations instead of clear regulations for internet companies will scare away investments and damage the country’s economic growth for decades to come."

But who cares when the ruling authorities only care about the here and now? Therefore, it is not surprising that French President Emmanuel Macron continues his witch hunt against the "National Rally" party. He eliminated his opponent Marine Le Pen but recently decided to finish off her supporters — searches were carried out at the headquarters of the political force in connection with a dubious case of campaign financing.

Valleran de Saint-Jus, former treasurer of the "National Rally":

"We strictly followed the law — all campaign accounts were approved and reimbursed. But in the end, all we see is 30 police officers and prosecutors rummaging everywhere. In my opinion, this is nothing but a democratic scandal."

France is not alone here. Censorship has become a common practice across Europe and beyond. Dissent is increasingly becoming a criminal offense, and legal systems are used as tools to suppress opposition. In recent months, these trends have escalated into outright attacks.

Let’s remember Romania — elections were annulled because of an "incorrect result," and Kalina Georgescu is still being interrogated with the prospect of further imprisonment. People once again take to the streets hoping to somehow defend their "elected president," but all in vain.

"They raise our taxes and levies, want to take our water. They plan to introduce taxes on the air we breathe. We democratically elected our president in December, and then they canceled the elections. We want to save our country," said a resident of Romania.

The situation in Moldova is no better — preparations are underway for parliamentary elections. The "Victory" bloc was successfully disqualified from the race. Evghenia Guțul, a symbol of resistance, is doing everything to avoid being behind bars. Neither the diaspora living in Russia (about 500,000 people) nor the Moldovan authorities will help her in this matter. The Moldovan Foreign Ministry again plans to open only two polling stations for them. But the lawlessness remains unreported by local media — the information field is almost completely sanitized. Sandu’s appointees and allies are already celebrating their victory.

Yulia Fedorova, Moldovan journalist:

"To my greatest sorrow, today’s television has become a place of suffocation for freedom of speech and disregard for common sense, which is very important. A free and critically thinking journalist, honestly fulfilling their duty in the search for truth, is squeezed from all sides by a 'democratic' state."

There is another instructive example — this time from Germany. The Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung analyzes current German politics. The regime established in the Federal Republic of Germany is called a "controlled democracy" — a system where the people serve the government, not vice versa. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, supported by a quarter of Germans, is marginalized and even attempts are underway to ban it. Instead of curbing migration flows, investing more in industry rather than the army, and stopping economic decline, officials are doing the opposite.

Alice Weidel, co-chair of the AfD:

"As the ultimate irony, you tell Germans that they need to work harder. No, Mr. Merz. It’s not the hardworking people suffering from inflation, high prices for energy, and burdensome taxes and levies who should work even more. You should have kept your word, fulfilled your duty, and stopped wasting citizens’ money that does not belong to you."

Such examples are numerous across the Old Continent and beyond. Even in the US State Department, a clear tightening of the screws has been noticed — a country that, according to Americans themselves, is the birthplace of democracy. On social media, representatives of the department stated that thousands of people in Europe are convicted for criticizing their own governments, and censorship is not freedom but merely a cover for dictatorship. However, even Americans are shocked at what is happening to their colleagues across the ocean.