Back to Brussels Blog homepageIs the “Stop Barroso” campaign finally running out of steam? Leaders of the main political groups in the European Parliament have pencilled in September 16 as the day when they will hold a vote on whether to confirm José Manuel Barroso for a second five-year term as European Commission president.
If this arrangement holds, then it will mark a defeat for the anti-Barroso forces who wanted to delay the vote until after Ireland held its October 2 referendum on the European Union’s Lisbon treaty. They were striving to create a situation in which (assuming the Irish voted Yes) the EU would simultaneously choose its first full-time president, the bloc’s new foreign policy high representative and the Commission president. In such circumstances, they hoped, Barroso would no longer be a shoo-in to run the Commission. Other candidates would emerge. Haggling would ensue. It would (they dreamed) be adeus, José Manuel.
This scenario now looks rather less likely. It reflects two factors. First, all 27 EU governments support Barroso. There neither is nor has been any other publicly named candidate for the Commission presidency. Secondly, it has been crystal-clear throughout this unedifying saga that certain MEPs have been undermining Barroso purely for the purpose of securing influence over his future Commission and its policies as well as jobs and political power for themselves.
It is, of course, a fundamental human right of every MEP to make himself or herself look foolish in the public eye. But perhaps it’s time now to get back to the real business of stabilising Europe’s financial sector and hauling the economy out of recession?
I have been the FT's Brussels bureau chief since September 2007 and was previously the bureau chief in Frankfurt and Rome. In this blog you'll find my thoughts on everything from the European Union's foreign and economic policies to the fortunes of its political leaders - as well as the more light-hearted aspects of life in Europe.
