Martin Selmayr’s appointment as Secretary General of the European Commission – an ‘astonishing power grab’ as Jean Quatremer put it – has been the talk of Brussels for the past month.
Selmayr, who was previously Jean Claude Juncker’s chief of staff, has vowed to act as the ‘heart and soul’ of the Commission since taking up his powerful new role. But Selmayr’s sudden replacement of Alexander Italianer has not been universally popular. Mr S has been keeping a keen eye on the European Parliament – where furious MEPs yesterday demanded that Mr Juncker reconsider his naked opportunism in installing Mr Selmayr:
If the Juncker Commission is not careful, it will have the same fate as the Santer Commission. Well said @SophieintVeld #Selmayrgate pic.twitter.com/NmOtF4mn1f
— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) March 12, 2018
Dutch MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld slammed the Commission’s ‘sheepish’ attitude:
I am left completely speechless at the scene of 28 powerful politicians selected for the political leadership of this continent, but led by the nose by a civil servant.
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