Commission Reposition

pete quentin, 6 October 2008

Last Friday, Gordon Brown’s latest attempt to appear at “getting on with the job of running the country” saw him reshuffle EU Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, back into the UK cabinet.

Media reports of Mandelson’s “third time lucky” return to government are infused with speculation about whether or not his appointment will unite the Labour party, either as an olive branch to Blarites or a political shield against reported plotters (those same Blairites!).
The European perspective is very different, with continental media reporting “the shock resignation of the Trade Commissioner”. But this isn’t the first time that a Commissioner has tendered a premature resignation.
For example in February 2004 Milos Kuzvart of the Czech Republic became the “shortest-lived Commissioner”. His resignation was strikingly pre-emptive because he resigned not only before he had officially taken over the role of Commissioner, but before the Czech Republic had even joined the EU. His resignation was sparked by domestic issues; Kuzvart felt he did not have adequate support from Prague.
EU Justice Commissioner, Franco Frattini also formally resigned in March 2008 when he was offered the position of Foreign Minister in Berlusconi’s new Italian government. Frattini’s case is the most apparent example of a politician passing the time in an EU position until a better position came up at home. Demonstrating his preference to hold a domestic post instead of a European one, he had requested 30-days unpaid leave to campaign in Italy’s 2008 election. Frattini had his fingers in both the Italian and European pies right up until his appointment as Italian Foreign minister was confirmed. Only then did he desert the Commission. Further recent examples of Commissioners abandoning Brussels for the greener pastures of home include Greek-Cypriot Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou who resigned in February 2008 when he was offered the influential position of Foreign Minister by incoming Cypriot President Demetris Christofias.
So, has Peter Mandelson fled the EU Commission to take on a high-powered, position in Westminster?
Brown’s justification for shuffling Mandelson from the EU is that the best and most experienced minds are needed to respond to the worsening economic crisis. He is right, of course. The global economy is being battered by the breakdown of financial markets and so the best people are needed to control the ensuing chaos. Surely the most experienced people are best placed in the most influential positions? Will Brown’s appointment of Mandelson as Secretary of State for Business really afford him more power to influence and improve the economic course of Britain and the EU? No.
In resigning from the European Commission Mandelson is leaving the most powerful of EU institutions. The Commission drives EU decision making because it is the only one that can propose new legislation. In terms of affecting the global economy, the most influential position for a British politician (disturbingly) is the Commission of the European Union. Not Westminster.
The vast majority of UK regulation is dictated from Brussels. In World Trade Organisation negotiations (including the recent round of Doha negotiations attended by Mandelson), the EU represents all member states. The WTO aims to regulate trade across the world – quite a platform for change and for calming the ensuing economic storm. Surely that makes the EU Commission a more effective forum within which Mandleson could use his experience to help ease the current economic pains?
Brown’s justification that he is mobilising “experience” to halt the economic turmoil is further undermined by his choice of Baroness Catherine Ashton as the replacement UK Trade Commissioner. She will leave her current position as Labour’s leader in the House of Lords and has plenty of experience in education and healthcare policy: she was chair of the Hertfordshire Health Authority in 1998, Vice President of the National Council for One Parent Families and Education Minister in 2001. But she is distinctly lacking in experience of trade policy.
Brown contends that his headline grabbing cabinet reshuffle represents the serious action of a dependable politician. But on closer inspection it might be that even at this time of unprecedented economic uncertainty, he has appointed Mandelson to appease disloyal Blairites and drown out calls for a leadership challenge. Brown has prioritised protecting his own position in his party over the genuine need for strong representation and policy in place where major decisions are ultimately made – Brussels.
Either Gordon Brown has failed to grasp the reality of the EU – that it now has more power over economic events in Britain than Westminster does – or, far more likely, he is all too aware that such powers rest with the EU and regardless of this fact he has prioritised fighting domestic battles to save his own political skin.
If the EU Commission was directly elected, it would not be possible for politicians to manipulate such appointments for their own political advantage.