The European publics continue to expect their governments to provide these kinds of economic guarantees and automatic stabilizers. In order to overcome public resistance, high officials of the EU Commission, the EcoFin and the ECB have first, in 2010, argued that the only way to preserve democracy was to institute austerity, "reform" and fiscal consolidation packages: there was no alternative for democracy was under threat otherwise. Now, in 2011, these same officials talk about "limited democracy", and about creating new EU officials able to overrule democratically elected governments' fiscal policies. The way that democracy was first the excuse for austerity and a year later it needs to be limited to enable austerity is rather ominous. If austerity was needed to protect democracy and a year later there are octogenarians in running battles with police over attempts to impose austerity from Brussels, something has gone terribly wrong.