Jean-Claude Juncker

Political armament on planet Juncker

It is hard to find answers to Europe’s real problems while you are dreaming yourself to a different planet. Juncker and the whole rest of the EU’s political leadership seriously need a reality check before they continue to fantasise over their next grand projects. [...]

Reforms are still possible … but they take time

Mr Key’s defining strategy is one of incremental radicalism. It resists any bold rhetoric or big picture reforms. In their stead, reforms are taken one step at a time. This enables the government to make its case and take the public along a journey. [...]

Can Juncker survive ‘Lux Leaks’?

Whether Juncker’s political career will come to an abrupt end now depends entirely on whether he can sufficiently distance himself from the Lux Leaks revelations. Or indeed, whether those who elected him to his new office will award him a grace period regardless. [...]

Juncker’s multi-billion stimulus phantom

Juncker has not even started his new job as President of the European Commission yet and he is already showing why there was so much resistance to his appointment, particularly in economically liberal and conservative circles. In the pursuit of his policies, he is free of any guiding economic principles and indifferent to legal constraints. [...]

The joys of forming a European government

The problems with forming the European Commission are manifold, but there is only one written rule: Every EU member state will be represented by one commissioner, nominated by national governments. The difficulties begin once you realise that there are numerous unwritten rules to be considered when putting together the new Commission. [...]

The phantom giant of Luxembourg

If there has ever been a country routinely punching above its weight it is Luxembourg. And if there has ever been a politician with an influence grossly disproportionate to his country’s power, it is Luxembourg’s interminable prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker. [...]