Кризата на представителството в ЕС и необходимостта от ново политическо лидерство
The Crisis of Representation in the EU and the Need for New Political Leadership

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the deepening crisis of political representation and democratic accountability in the European Union, advancing the argument that the structural constraints of the post-Lisbon Treaty institutional model generate a deficit of effective political leadership. This deficit does not stem solely from the absence of charismatic political figures, but rather from the combination of fragmented decision-making mechanisms, a weakened link between citizens and institutions, and the lack of a coherent and sustainable vision for the European political project. The article employs the Spitzenkandidaten model as a key analytical case study to illustrate the tensions between efforts toward democratization and persistent institutional constraints. The abandonment of the model in 2019 is interpreted as a symptom of the strain between national interests, supranational integration, and emerging expectations for more direct citizen participation in EU politics. The analysis integrates concepts from elite sociology (Mosca, Pareto, Bourdieu), theories of legitimacy (Weber, Habermas), approaches to political leadership (Burns, Bass), and research on political imagination and transnational mobilization. This framework demonstrates how institutional deficits interact with social processes such as the rise of populism, expanding Euroscepticism, and the political mobilization of younger generations. In conclusion, the article outlines the parameters of a „new political leadership“ in the EU and proposes criteria for institutional reform, including amendments to the Lisbon Treaty.

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