The Irishman, the Dutchwoman and the Indian who put the home team to shame

It says something about how cosmopolitan the City has become that, for my money, the three winners of my personal ‘people of the year’ awards are an Irishman, a Dutchwoman and an Indian. The latter is Lakshmi Mittal, who had the audacity to take on the French establishment with his bid for Arcelor and win. In doing so, the steel magnate struck a magnificent blow for shareholder rights in the heart of Old Europe — which is still where the City’s future will be determined, regardless of its current love affair with Russian oil groups and Kazakh mining businesses. The Irishman is Charlie McCreevy, the EU internal market commissioner, whose hyperactive defence of single market principles has often seemed to be all that has stood between the EU and a descent into outright protectionism. His passionate commitment to free market principles and willingness to take the fight to the governments of Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Germany, among others, puts our own vacillating, mealy-mouthed politicians of all parties to shame.