> "[...] A dialogue between well-connected lobbyists and bureaucrats, and everyone else should just shut up and take it?"

Why, yes... that's exactly what the types of outfits like the European People's Party [1] expect on many things. But year after year these incompetent grouches get the majority of votes. And that's before one has to deal with the full-blown far right, fascists, and the like (e. g. ESN [2], PfE [3], et cetera).

1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_People's_Party]

2. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe_of_Sovereign_Nations_Gr...]

3. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriots_for_Europe]