Bulgaria’s nominee flunks EU test
Rumiana Jeleva, Bulgaria's foreign minister and candidate Commissioner, withdrew her candidacy after criticism on her financial dealings and her competence. Ms Jeleva faced repeated questions about these matters, forcing her to withdraw her nomination.
This is a new setback for Barrosso on his way to Barrosso II. He had backed up this candidate, as did the Bulgarian government, leaving them both embarrassed, the New York Times reports. The new Bulgarian nominee is Kristalina Georgieva, a former World Bank vice-president. She will have to undergo a hearing of her own, making the date for the confirmation of the new Commission on February 9 difficult to reach.
Barroso who was eager to start will also have to await the outcome of second grillings for two candidates, Neelie Kroes and Olli Rehn, who are also under fire and have to go back on the grill for some more heat. They respectively apply for the job of digital economy Commissioner and for economic and monetary affairs, but they're not home yet.
The debate shows the Parliament wants to confirm its role and indicated a democratic high standard. At he same time, the political inner fights and competition could harm the democratic if criticism is more inspired by political enemy games then content.
EU hearing week is hot grill
The EU hearings in Brussels are in full motion and will continue until the 19th. Catherine Ashton and Karel De Gucht have passed the test successfully, a whole string of hopefuls are to follow. As it says on the hearings website, the candidates are invited to public hearings by the appropriate parliamentary committee(s). They answer questions from MEPs to assess their abilities, particularly to deal with the issues in their portfolios. The committees' evaluations are then examined by Parliament's President and political group leaders.
The candidate Commissioners face a three houre Q&A 'firing squad' with MEPs. Karel De Gucht commented after his experience that it is quite a test. You could also read the stress on miss Ashton's face after her grilling, where she remained strong and upright.
Imagine to be in one of these candidates' shoes. The tempo of one minute questions and replies is exhausting. The question content is vast, ranging from your CV to political views. And the questions come at you in a variety of languages, with a translation in your other ear. You have to keep up your energy for three hours. And not make a mistake. Best not have a blackout on any subject, any name, geographic data or a political issues. But not only do you have to think fast and make no errors, your answer must be a smart and well formulated résumé of what you think and feel, while remaining inside the lines of where the Commission is going to. To make things more complex, you have to reply using terms and expressions for which in many cases the jargon is only available in English, in most cases not your mother tongue. And to top it all, you are questioned by a group of representatives of varied political colours and opinions, who had the time to prepare their specific question well and and not necessarily like you…
So these Question and Answer sessions are not a pick-nick, more like a barbecue, where each candidate is on the grill. The last time this happened not all candidates passed the test. Would former US Vice President candidate miss Sarah Palin have passed this BBQ session?