José Manuel Barroso seems to be not entirely satisfied by his job as the Commission's president. Seemingly unhappy with the somewhat technocratic character of his position, he enjoys himself in the role as the neoliberal posterboy of the Union. Not to his benefit, sad to say - and definitely not to the benefit of the Commission and the Union.
Commenting on the French protests against the CPE of this weekend he states that Europeans show "nostalgia for revolution, but fear of reform", as EUobserver.com reports. Barroso has shown a great interest in producing soundbites that depict him as an uncompromising fighter for social cuts and corporate benefits. But this latest quote reveals more: not only is it ridiculous from a theoretical point of view (revolution is, if nothing else, more, and not less than reform). It also show's the complete disorientation of Barroso and his neoliberal sidekicks as soon as they are confronted with the voice of the European population.
His hard-boiled sacrifice-more-and-get-less rethorics works only when the European electorate is shut out. Confronted with public reaction to his politics he is not at all able to find support for even the most basic elements of his politics.
After all: even from a liberal perspective is is simply not comprehensible what the benefit of tying up young adults in disadvantageous forced contracts could possibly be.
The French public now makes the democratically questionable and politically wrong approach of the Barroso-Commission obvious for the second time within a year.
And Barroso plays a risky game: the quixotic and widely unpracticable character of his politics widely antagonizes the European public and risks its willingness to move out of the status quo. If Barroso doesn't change course now he will be the prime culprit for a motion-less Union for years to come. It's not the French students being outworldly - Barroso is.
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