Democracy is the great question facing Europe now, the leader of Fine Gael, Mr John Bruton, said yesterday in calling for MEPs to be given the right to elect the president of the Commission. Mr Bruton was in Brussels for the conference of the European People's Party, the alliance of 25 Christian Democrat and conservative parties to which Fine Gael is affiliated, and to whose vice-presidency he was yesterday elected. The party is the second largest in the European Parliament.

Mr Bruton has made it clear he does not approve of any drift of the EPP to the right and yesterday emphasised its role as a gathering of parties "of the centre, not an anti-socialist bloc". Addressing delegates, he insisted that "the classic left and classic right, and their models of politics, offer Europe nothing more than a never-ending dialogue of the deaf".

The challenge, he argued, was a philosophy based on developing the potential of every person.

He hinted again at Fine Gael's frustration with Irish neutrality by insisting that "Europe must be able to defend itself. We cannot expect others to do that for us".

But his key message was the need to enhance EU legitimacy by creating "a direct link between people's votes in European elections and the way the EU is run".

That could best be done, he said, by allowing the parliament to elect the president of the Commission from among its ranks and then allowing the president to pick his Commission, also from among MEPs, but ensuring balanced representation between states. "This would probably result in the leader or nominee of the largest group becoming Commission president."