What did the MEP - our (?) representatives in the Europen Parliament - do for us - citizens and voters - over the last five years of their mandate ? Why should we vote (again)? And is/was their a real choice? Asking this question in the just started election campaign it's not easy to get really useful answers. What we see: EP and other EU-institutions spent a lot of (taxpayers/voters) money to sell their 'success stories'. The aim of this expensive exercise is clear: the EU-power-elite tries to get a high voting participation-rate.

Why? It's one of the main justifications of politicians. For what? Doing during their mandate - what they want: "You voted for us, so let us in peace an doing our job", we often hear the years after we gave them our vote. Frustrating - especially in this hard times when governments spent in some weeks time billions of Euro and Dollars to save "systemrelevant" banks, other companies and - last but not least - their own power.

Are there indicators, to illustrate the work of MEPs? The presence in the plenary or committees sessions? Not easy stuff. If even the attendance-statistics are not transparent.  And: `terrain polititique, liaisons dangereuse'. Some Journalists and others got over the last weeks an impression, how sensitive MEPs are, when you ask for their attendance in the Brussel or Strasbourg hemicyle .

Interesting again the french reports of Jean Quatremer of Libération. Despite all transparency-rethoric: the EP ist full of secrets and some hidden knowledge. Congratulations, Monsieur Flavien Deltort. The former assistant of the italian MEP  Marco Cappato did a great job and listed all available MEP-statistics on the attendance and other activities of MEP.