Most U.K. ministers are MPs but far from all. All ministers are appointed by party patronage, and often not on the basis of competence but to reward loyalty or appease an internal party faction. The leaders of the EU who nominate the EU officials behind closed doors are all elected in their own countries, it’s exactly the same as here but one step removed. For every Von der Leyen there is a Chris Grayling. Would you prefer it if the EU Parliament formed the EU Government, and EU commissioners were drawn from MEPs?
There is a small irony in you railing against lack of democracy in the EU, an organisation we are meant to be leaving, while defending British government ministers, the very people who have denied you your democratic wish to leave.
That "one step removed" is very important. And elected EU leaders can't vote on someone who hasn't been nominated. This is the BBC on Van der Leyen's surprise nomination:
"Germany's powerful Green Party is threatening to veto the nomination [of Van der Leyen] in the European Parliament.
"It's
an unparalleled act of political trickery," says Sigmar Gabriel, a big hitter in Germany's centre-left SPD and former party leader.
He called on his party, which governs Germany with Angela Merkel's centre-right party, to block the nomination.
Otherwise, he warned, the EU elections that were supposed to give the elected parliament more power in allocating top jobs risked
becoming a farce.
Martin Schulz, former EU parliamentary president and Merkel rival, condemned what he called
backroom haggling over top jobs.
Arguably Mr Schulz is more annoyed that his own backroom deals to get a fellow centre-left candidate into the job have backfired.
He has been outmanoeuvred once again by his nemesis, Angela Merkel."
This machiavellian scullduggery is someway from the UK voting in a Party for 5 years and the PM appointing ministers from mostly elected MP's (I'm struggling to remember when a Lord was a minister). Probably Adonis under Labour, just a guess.
As to democracy in the UK, I won't be voting for any party that has individuals that block us leaving the EU. So my vote could go to Brexit Party if the likes of Grieve and Letwin act in negative ways. That's democracy right there.