Right in his boots, Oettinger hardly convinces the deputies, worse he provokes them

(B2) Coming to a special meeting of Cocobu, the budget control committee, on Tuesday (March 27), Commissioner Günther Oettinger did not really convince the deputies present or the journalist observers (including B2).

Oratory ping pong

At first sure of himself — we followed all the rules —, he ended with a much less friendly tone, pointing his finger at the deputies, banging the flat of his hand on his desk, a sign of a certain nervousness, and wielding the threat, no longer hesitating to attack deputies, considered too pusillanimous. But above all he contradicted himself on many occasions on details as well as on substance: starting with a very legal defense, then ending up conceding that this appointment was above all very political. As noted by MEP Gilles Pargneaux (S&D) " after two hours of ping pong, you could make a career in the cinema because your answers are sometimes contradictory ».

A presentation that is too clear destabilizes Günther

This is especially after the presentation of the lawyer of the parliament, particularly clear, demonstrating that all the rules had perhaps not been respected (read: Selmayr case. Parliament's legal service gives a very clear opinion. Interesting), that the German, however experienced, has lost some of his means. On the other people who had applied, he started by explaining that, in the name of the protection of personal data, he could not say anything but that as a sign of goodwill, he was ready to communicate to some deputies, in a separate room some documents...

Data protection except to swing nasty things

Then at the turn of a sentence he dropped, about the candidacy of the Spaniard, then deputy chief of staff who, in the meantime, was promoted to chief of staff of Jean-Claude Juncker: “ she was not deemed competent for this position (of secretary general). Which is a personal data breach to say the least. And a lynching in order of a person appointed in the wake of President Juncker's chief of staff.

Martin Selmayr at an EPP meeting: not aware

The funniest thing was, however, when the commissioner said he did not know at which meeting (Editor's note: from the EPP) Martin Selmayr had been able to participate, before coming back to it by giving a few details: the chief of staff "haswas waiting at the meeting door with the phone”, to provide assistance if necessary. " It's always been like this ».

A disastrous effect among MPs

Over the course of his presentation, the support vanishes. None of the MEPs who intervened were there to defend the Commission's position. And the commissioner's attitude didn't really help. If the deputies had left with a beforehand not very favorable to the Commission, most of the interventions remained quite moderate in language, and rather open in spirit. Several poles have even been extended to the Commission.

vexatious behavior

Not only did Oettinger seize none of it, but he vexed even those who were ready to give him contrition. At the end of his presentation, he provoked, on several occasions, laughter on the benches of journalists and deputies, so much his remarks were in contradiction with his remarks before. During her speech, the face of Ingeborg Grässle, president of the session, member of the same party as the commissioner (the CDU), was thus largely closed.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

(1) When I asked a spokesperson about this disastrous result, past the defense of circumstance, came this word: “ But you know Oettinger. He's like that »... Tiredness