How will Europe remember Jean-Claude Juncker? – Denise Grech

This article, by Corporate Dispatch correspondent in Brussels Denise Grech appeared first on The CorporateDispatch.Com Week edition published on October 26th by CorporateDispatch ePublishing

Politicians being moved to tears is a rare sight in uptight Brussels- but European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker could not help getting emotional at his last summit earlier this month.
Speaking to journalists at his final press conference, the 64-year-old Luxembourg politician was almost reduced to tears as he thanked the press and European Council President Donald Tusk. As he came to the end of his speech, he struggled to deliver his last line.

“I will always be proud, until the end of my life, to have served Europe,” Juncker said.
But what will history make of Jean-Claude Juncker? How is he viewed across the Continent?

That very much depends on who you’re asking. Hungary’s Victor Orban, unsurprisingly, is not Juncker’s biggest fan. He even went on to say that the United Kingdom would not have voted to leave the EU had Juncker not been Commission President at the time of the vote.
Towards the end of his tenure, Europe saw a more nuanced and honest Juncker- partly because the Brexit vote meant that we might be obsessed with Europe and its leaders now more than ever. Remainers quite liked his eccentricities and even UK Brexit Party’s Nigel Farage told Euronews that he quite liked the guy, even though he disagreed with his viewpoint.

“There is no one more committed to building the United States of Europe and getting rid of nation state democracies and putting the power here than him, and I think Brexit in a way diverted him from that task,” Farage said.
Arguably, his personality has developed an almost iconic status even outside the Brussels bubble and not a week goes by without him being mentioned in German media.
Juncker was also associated with the old-style, European federalist way of thinking: exactly the kind of person that the likes of Nigel Farage would use as a poster child for their campaign. He’s presided over Brexit, but other than that, critics have said it’s hard to point out achievements or hallmarks of his presidency.
He will still be at the helm of the European Commission for a while since his successor Urusla von Der Leyen ran into some trouble to assemble her new team.
But some believe this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Juncker.
“I think he’s an important playmaker in the European Union, and I think we will need his help in future,” Italian EPP MEP Antonio Tajani said