Gregor and Boris propose transparency and accessibility as effective tools against such alienation and disillusionment. ParliamentWatch provides a politically neutral platform for citizens to engage in direct dialogue with both current and potential representatives. Both websites also track politicians’ behavior, by documenting previous speeches, extra earnings and past voting records, thus holding elected officials accountable to their constituents.

Problema

Weary of inaccessible ‘political experts’ many citizens feel detached and distrustful of their politicians. Voter alienation is a widespread problem but is particularly evident among young people. Aggravating the disparity between the people and their representatives is the lack of available avenues of communication. There is no medium through which citizens can partake in direct communication with their representatives. Media coverage is unreliable and often biased with only sensationalist stories attracting extensive coverage. Disillusioned voters, frustrated with their detachment from their representatives often find themselves drawn to the leadership of extremist parties and indeed there has been a recent upsurge in support for such groups.

Solução

ParliamentWatch is a scalable, politically neutral forum where citizens can engage in direct communication with their representatives and access all previous speeches and past voting records of their politicians.

Exemplo

Gregor has established several partnerships with influential media sources, reaching out to 300,000 citizens every month. He hopes to use this influence to expand his base of paying members. 100 percent of the German federal parliament is represented on Parliament Watch, with 93 percent of MPs having answered a question posed by their constituents. Gregor’s next step will be to spread his platform to include all state politicians, in all sixteen states in Germany, and cover all state parliaments. In 2008, Austria launched its own franchise, and groups in Switzerland, India and Brazil have expressed interest in expanding the model. Gregor's ultimate goal is a Europe-wide platform for EU officials as he feels the European electorate is especially detached from their representatives in the European Parliament. Gregor and Boris are currently looking into a full expansion into Ireland

Ofertas e demandas

Disillusioned voters, entire citizen population