Summit plan earns Santer a Brownie point

Date: 05/11/1998

European Commission President Jacques Santer is developing a mischievous capacity to surprise people.

The most recent example of this came when he called for a special anti-crime summit meeting of EU leaders to be held this time next year.

Santer, who has made it clear he would not be unhappy if EU leaders ask him to stay on as Commission president when his current five-year term in office expires in December 1999, caught European heads of state and government unawares when he put forward the idea at last month's informal summit in Pörtschach, Austria.

But most surprised of all was his Commission colleague Anita Gradin, who is responsible for justice and home affairs policy within the institution. She had no inkling beforehand that Santer was going to come forward with his proposal.

A case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, perhaps? Or was it instead a classic example of that well-known ploy among politicians bidding for re-election - namely, stealing your colleague's thunder?