I see the ACTA as a path to downfall for those "power junkies" you mentioned.
They think they're doing themselves a favor, but I like to think they're digging their own holes. After all, they're going after evil pirates, not competitors to their products and brand, which are often some guys who wrote a book and decided to give it away for free on the internet.
But most of the politician do not understand the subtitles. They just see evil pirates and think, pirates bad, copying = theft, etc. When they do their job and listen and debate, then they generally get it. These are smart folk, it's just some are power junkies to the exclusion of all else, so constructive communication is nigh on impossible, or completely abstract at best.
They think they're doing themselves a favor, but I like to think they're digging their own holes. After all, they're going after evil pirates, not competitors to their products and brand, which are often some guys who wrote a book and decided to give it away for free on the internet.