UKIP supporters claimed the high ground for their anti-European stance with yesterday’s scrapping of a bizarre EU food directive. An obscure set of agricultural management rulings had included a ban on the use of olive oil jugs in restaurants – specifically, ordering that any olive oil “presented at a restaurant table” had to be in pre-packaged bottles, with a tamper-proof dispensing nozzle and label.
In theory, the directive was meant to bring restaurants in line with EU industrial standards, but was met with a storm of protest, as it would have ended the option of using oil from small, family businesses.
Following the outcry, EU agriculture minister Dacian Ciolos announced a U-turn in Brussels.
His reasoning was sound: “It was a measure intended to help customers,” he said, “to protect and inform them, but it is clear that it cannot attract consumer support.” David Cameron and Eurosceptics were quick to jump on the story as an example of bureaucracy gone mad, yet it seems that the measure was originally passed following decisions by several countries, including Britain, to abstain or switch votes. As such, it was essentially a democratic decision. Nonetheless, Coilos’ quick response to public pressure was the only reasonable solution.
The U-turn, of course, is something that the present government is hugely familiar with – indeed, has almost come to define its time in office. One such example, Michael Gove’s attempt to introduce the Baccalaureate, is striking in its similarity to olivegate: an ill-considered, unpopular and ultimately unworkable idea that its creator had no choice but to backtrack on.
In both cases, it is at least reassuring that the public still has the power to complain loudly enough to overturn poor management decisions, and Ciolos and Gove deserve credit for abandoning them – although both ultimately lose credibility for having dreamt them up in the first place. Naturally, there are times when an unpopular decision that is likely to yield long-term benefits will require leaders to face down public opposition and see it through. But olivegate offers compelling evidence that the public knows the difference, and is quick to remind the politicians who is really in charge.
Image of Dacian Ciolos courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons, via Wikipedia