Europeans like to point the finger at Donald Trump’s relentless attacks against truth, history and vocabulary. But they don't have much ground to stand on.

Manfred Weber’s latest encyclical on democracy was a magnificent illustration of European hypocrisy. For the German — who is the conservatives' lead candidate for the European Commission presidency — democracy means applying the so-called Spitzenkandidaten system and appointing himself at the head of the EU executive. The European Parliament should refuse any other appointment made in "diplomats' backrooms," he claimed over the weekend, as POLITICO reported (June 23).

Last time I checked, democracy relies on legal rules and checks and balances. It's crystal clear in Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union, for example, that the appointment of the Commission’s president is a shared competence between the European Council — who aren't "diplomats" either, by the way — and the Parliament. As soon as the Parliament starts dictating the terms, that rule is broken.

The stipulation that the institutions must take "into consideration the results of the election” requires that they find a candidate with broad backing among political groups, which Weber clearly does not have. Alternation is also an important part of democracy, which would require the EPP relinquish its hold on EU power after 15 years at the helm of its most powerful institutions.

When someone shouts loudly about "democracy," like Weber has done over the past few days, it's also worth taking a look at whether they actually defend the principle.

Weber drapes himself in a democratic cloak inside the party, but his track record in the EPP group tells another story.

What did Weber do after 2010, when Hungary's Viktor Orbán started to sabotage democracy in Hungary? Or when Martin Selmayr was appointed through less than legal means?

That's right. He did nothing — despite the fact that as leader of the European People's Party, the Parliament's biggest political group, in the institution, he was in an ideal position to take a stand.

What about when Hungary cracked down on independent media and expelled NGOs? Nothing. He didn't react when Orbán's government attacked Central European University in Budapest and sacrificed the judiciary, and has made no proposals on how to more effectively control the use of EU funds flowing to Orbán's government.

Weber drapes himself in a democratic cloak inside the party, but his track record in the EPP group tells another story. He didn't back excluding Fidesz from the group, only to suspend it, and keeps relying on Fidesz's votes.

Frankly, it would be a catastrophe for the European political class to offer voters such a bad remake of “House of Cards” as its model of democracy. And it would seriously weaken the Commission for the next five years.

Franklin Dehousse

Professor of law at University of Liège; former judge at the Court of Justice of the EU

Brussels, Belgium