Intergroup transplant

Date: 06/03/1997

What prompted Christian Cabrol, the renowned cardiovascular surgeon and French Gaullist MEP, to undergo an intergroup transplant so abruptly?

Within months of entering the European Parliament for the first time in June 1994, the 71-year-old surgical celebrity was appointed chairman of the cross-party parliamentary health alliance.

But it seems he got cold feet in mid-January when fellow members announced it was time for a little radical surgery to elect new officers. Cabrol stood down the very next day, declaring himself too busy to carry on.

But then, last month, he popped up with a rival all-party intergroup on food and health.

Unfortunately, only four MEPs, all French, turned up, so Cabrol declared himself chairman - reinforcing the view of many members of the health intergroup that he had become too autocratic.