[nona]

> unelected government/political entity whose decisions happen to affect people's lives on a national level

Since you're referring to Brexit, you mean a political entity like the UK's House of Lords? A lot of the people in the pro-Brexit camp were often blaming EU unelected bureaucrats but seemed to be perfectly fine with their own unelected, appointed for life (and in some cases hereditary) lords.

I would like to understand why. I agree with you it's not all "the Russians' fault", and I may have jumped the gun a bit with my earlier comment. There's definitely a weakness in the disconnect between Brussels and the states/citizens.

Is it a fundamental belief that local government is "better" or more adapted to local circumstances at least? ("sovereignty trumps economy"). Or that a vote for the EU parliament is too "diluted"? Maybe, but being a part of the EU is a trade-off: there's a lot of advantages in being a part of a bigger trading and political bloc.

After the (IMHO) unmitigated disaster that was Brexit, very few other member states still have an appetite for leaving the EU. But it'd be better if the EU was something they'd enthusiastically want to be a part of, instead of begrudgingly. However, eurosceptics seem to have difficulty articulating the changes they'd want to see.