The problem is that the European Commission and the European Parliament have consistently failed to generate a compelling narrative, leaving ordinary Europeans unconvinced of the EU’s value. Making matters worse, national and European leaders have allowed – even encouraged – citizens to believe that integration is inevitable, lowering the stakes for European elections.
当然，回归前欧盟世界的概念是有根本性漏洞的，因为个体欧洲国家根本无从在现代全球经济中立足。尽管如此，怀旧感仍左右着许多选民的决定。简言之，欧洲人是用屁股在投票。