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| Jean-Claude Juncker, Quietly in Eye of E.U. Storm | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| LUXEMBOURG — As millions of Greeks faced misery amid Europe’s debt crisis, Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourger helping to oversee their rescue, was asked at a news conference what would happen if Greece failed to meet the demands of the lenders who had bailed out the country. | LUXEMBOURG — As millions of Greeks faced misery amid Europe’s debt crisis, Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourger helping to oversee their rescue, was asked at a news conference what would happen if Greece failed to meet the demands of the lenders who had bailed out the country. |
| Mr. Juncker smirked, switched from English to German, and replied with a riddle: “If the donkey were a cat, it would sit at the top of the tree every day.” | Mr. Juncker smirked, switched from English to German, and replied with a riddle: “If the donkey were a cat, it would sit at the top of the tree every day.” |
| No one was really sure what it meant. Now, even as Mr. Juncker, 59, seems poised to become president of the European Commission, the European Union’s powerful executive branch, he remains just as inscrutable. | No one was really sure what it meant. Now, even as Mr. Juncker, 59, seems poised to become president of the European Commission, the European Union’s powerful executive branch, he remains just as inscrutable. |
| Not least of the current riddles surrounding him is how a former Luxembourg prime minister, whose seeming bureaucratic blandness belies a sharp intellect and formidable stamina, has become the most divisive figure in the European Union, pitting the group’s top leaders against one another in a showdown that could come to a head Friday in a humbling defeat for Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron. | Not least of the current riddles surrounding him is how a former Luxembourg prime minister, whose seeming bureaucratic blandness belies a sharp intellect and formidable stamina, has become the most divisive figure in the European Union, pitting the group’s top leaders against one another in a showdown that could come to a head Friday in a humbling defeat for Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron. |
| Mr. Cameron has steadfastly opposed Mr. Juncker to lead the European Commission, arguing that he was unlikely to curb the kind of bureaucratic overreach that many European voters — not least those in Britain — rejected in elections in May. On the other side has been Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who made clear this week that Mr. Juncker was her man. | Mr. Cameron has steadfastly opposed Mr. Juncker to lead the European Commission, arguing that he was unlikely to curb the kind of bureaucratic overreach that many European voters — not least those in Britain — rejected in elections in May. On the other side has been Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who made clear this week that Mr. Juncker was her man. |
| Ms. Merkel now has the support of a majority of European leaders, leaving Mr. Cameron virtually isolated. If he chooses to push a vote at a summit of the group’s leaders in Brussels on Friday, or any later time, it seems inevitable that he will fail. | Ms. Merkel now has the support of a majority of European leaders, leaving Mr. Cameron virtually isolated. If he chooses to push a vote at a summit of the group’s leaders in Brussels on Friday, or any later time, it seems inevitable that he will fail. |
| Perhaps that was why Pierre Moscovici, a former French finance minister, said he was assured by senior British figures at a meeting in London that the Cameron government would not try to halt Mr. Juncker’s ascendancy. | Perhaps that was why Pierre Moscovici, a former French finance minister, said he was assured by senior British figures at a meeting in London that the Cameron government would not try to halt Mr. Juncker’s ascendancy. |
| “Probably, it will be a moment of tension,” Mr. Moscovici said on Thursday. “It should not be — it must not be — a moment of crisis.” | “Probably, it will be a moment of tension,” Mr. Moscovici said on Thursday. “It should not be — it must not be — a moment of crisis.” |
| His comments came before a two-day summit of European Union leaders in Belgium. On Thursday, they gathered at Ypres to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, and on Friday the leaders are expected to decide on Mr. Juncker’s nomination in Brussels. | His comments came before a two-day summit of European Union leaders in Belgium. On Thursday, they gathered at Ypres to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, and on Friday the leaders are expected to decide on Mr. Juncker’s nomination in Brussels. |
| When Mr. Juncker delivered his riddle two years ago, he was the president of the powerful Eurogroup of ministers who made critical decisions imposing austerity on countries like Greece, often at the behest of Germany, in return for bailouts that helped save the euro area from a meltdown. | When Mr. Juncker delivered his riddle two years ago, he was the president of the powerful Eurogroup of ministers who made critical decisions imposing austerity on countries like Greece, often at the behest of Germany, in return for bailouts that helped save the euro area from a meltdown. |
| To critics, Mr. Juncker’s insider status make him the wrong choice at a time when officials in charge of the decades-old union are under unprecedented pressure to explain what they do far more clearly and to start shedding responsibilities to ensure their survival. | To critics, Mr. Juncker’s insider status make him the wrong choice at a time when officials in charge of the decades-old union are under unprecedented pressure to explain what they do far more clearly and to start shedding responsibilities to ensure their survival. |
| Protest parties like the French National Front and U.K. Independence Party that made strong gains in Pan-European elections last month campaigned against the European Union as being run by a haughty elite unable or unwilling to address the concerns of everyday citizens. | Protest parties like the French National Front and U.K. Independence Party that made strong gains in Pan-European elections last month campaigned against the European Union as being run by a haughty elite unable or unwilling to address the concerns of everyday citizens. |
| British officials have branded Mr. Juncker as emblematic of the problem: a business-as-usual choice, incapable of delivering change and foisted on leaders by the European Parliament in a process that amounts to a permanent transfer of power away from national governments. | British officials have branded Mr. Juncker as emblematic of the problem: a business-as-usual choice, incapable of delivering change and foisted on leaders by the European Parliament in a process that amounts to a permanent transfer of power away from national governments. |
| Leaders have historically decided who should be president of the European Commission by consensus among themselves. This time, under pressure to close the “democratic deficit” for which European Union institutions have been criticized, they were working under a treaty that went into force in 2009 requiring them to take into account the result of the European elections. | Leaders have historically decided who should be president of the European Commission by consensus among themselves. This time, under pressure to close the “democratic deficit” for which European Union institutions have been criticized, they were working under a treaty that went into force in 2009 requiring them to take into account the result of the European elections. |
| Yet Mr. Juncker’s long record as a consummate Brussels insider makes him an unlikely standard-bearer for a more open democratic system. Mr. Cameron noted acidly that “nowhere was Mr. Juncker on the ballot” in the elections. | Yet Mr. Juncker’s long record as a consummate Brussels insider makes him an unlikely standard-bearer for a more open democratic system. Mr. Cameron noted acidly that “nowhere was Mr. Juncker on the ballot” in the elections. |
| His name was instead put forward by the European People’s Party, a center-right group in the European legislature, as its leading candidate for commission president. The party fared better than its Socialist and other rivals in the May elections but still lost seats compared with the previous elections in 2009. | His name was instead put forward by the European People’s Party, a center-right group in the European legislature, as its leading candidate for commission president. The party fared better than its Socialist and other rivals in the May elections but still lost seats compared with the previous elections in 2009. |
| During the first Pan-European campaign for the post, Mr. Juncker pledged to “work for a fair deal with Britain.” But the fight still grew ugly, with a London tabloid, The Sun, calling Mr. Juncker “the most dangerous man in Europe.” | During the first Pan-European campaign for the post, Mr. Juncker pledged to “work for a fair deal with Britain.” But the fight still grew ugly, with a London tabloid, The Sun, calling Mr. Juncker “the most dangerous man in Europe.” |
| If named by leaders and approved by the European Parliament, Mr. Juncker would oversee legislative proposals in a vast range of areas that have included capping bonuses for bankers and limiting pollution from power plants. Mr. Juncker has spent years hashing out tricky accords that helped stabilize the single-currency zone. Earlier in his career, he helped to draft plans for European economic and monetary union and craft the rule book that underpins the euro area. Those experiences make him the right person to forge policies to return Europe to prosperity, his backers say. | If named by leaders and approved by the European Parliament, Mr. Juncker would oversee legislative proposals in a vast range of areas that have included capping bonuses for bankers and limiting pollution from power plants. Mr. Juncker has spent years hashing out tricky accords that helped stabilize the single-currency zone. Earlier in his career, he helped to draft plans for European economic and monetary union and craft the rule book that underpins the euro area. Those experiences make him the right person to forge policies to return Europe to prosperity, his backers say. |
| His nearly two-decade premiership of Luxembourg came to an abrupt end almost a year ago after a scandal involving the country’s national intelligence agency, whose spies were accused, among other things, of accepting payments and favors. | His nearly two-decade premiership of Luxembourg came to an abrupt end almost a year ago after a scandal involving the country’s national intelligence agency, whose spies were accused, among other things, of accepting payments and favors. |
| Mr. Juncker, whose father worked in the steel industry and was active in the trade union movement, often plays up his humble roots in a country whose citizens were not always so wealthy. He is a strong advocate of social protections, including a minimum wage for all Europeans. | Mr. Juncker, whose father worked in the steel industry and was active in the trade union movement, often plays up his humble roots in a country whose citizens were not always so wealthy. He is a strong advocate of social protections, including a minimum wage for all Europeans. |
| During his time as prime minister he also helped oversee the transformation of his country, which was once reliant on farming and steelmaking, into a low-tax hub for banking and insurance with one of the highest per capita incomes of any developed country. | During his time as prime minister he also helped oversee the transformation of his country, which was once reliant on farming and steelmaking, into a low-tax hub for banking and insurance with one of the highest per capita incomes of any developed country. |
| “He’s leftish on the right wing, as leftish as you can be,” said Alain Steichen of the law firm Bonn Steichen & Partners in Luxembourg. “So it was a sort of very difficult balancing act for him, also mentally, not to put too many obstacles in the way of bankers.” | “He’s leftish on the right wing, as leftish as you can be,” said Alain Steichen of the law firm Bonn Steichen & Partners in Luxembourg. “So it was a sort of very difficult balancing act for him, also mentally, not to put too many obstacles in the way of bankers.” |
| Today, the form of capitalism that flourished under Mr. Juncker is in retreat. Last year, under pressure with other tax havens, Luxembourg pledged to sign on to an expanded program that would share data on wealthy Europeans that have used Luxembourg to hide their money. | Today, the form of capitalism that flourished under Mr. Juncker is in retreat. Last year, under pressure with other tax havens, Luxembourg pledged to sign on to an expanded program that would share data on wealthy Europeans that have used Luxembourg to hide their money. |