A man of uncertain age

Date: 11/07/1996

Horst Krenzler, Director-General of DGI (external economic relations) is a shy old thing.

Just when he has reached the age at which age should not matter, he has decided it does. His secretary, clearly under instructions to give nothing away, refused to reveal his birthdate.

“Some people do not like to reveal their age when they reach a certain point,” she declared, in a new blow to openness and transparency.

She did however faithfully promise that her boss will not be 65 this year, so we will just have to call him 'sixtysomething', although that could pitch him closer to 70 than he would probably like.

Why does this matter? Only because rumours abound that Krenzler is preparing to pack his bags after three and a half years working closely, if not always harmoniously with Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan.

Confirmation that Krenzler was approaching retirement age would make it easier to snuff out suggestions that he is leaving because of a tricky working relationship with Brittan and also because he failed to get the job of EU ambassador to Washington, which went to trade negotiator Hugo Paeman, last year.

Whatever the reason, one of the Commission's most powerful and visible foreign policy jobs is coming up for grabs and the big question is which country's national it will go to.

Most unlikely are the UK, because Brittan is the Commissioner, and Germany, because the director-general of DGIA is a German, Günther Burghardt.

Let the bartering begin for this highly-coveted post, and a special award to anyone who can precisely date the young-at-heart Krenzler.

Not so shy is the Union's ambassador to the World Trade Organisation, Jean-Pierre Leng, who openly admits that he will be 65 this summer and will, therefore, be retiring.

No formal decision has yet been taken about his successor, but Entre Nous hears that Roderick Abbott, director of DGIG - the trade department of DGI which also covers relations with the WTO - is a likely choice for an open ticket to Geneva.

The rumour mill's hot tip for Abbott's replacement is Robert Madelin, currently serving in Sir Leon Brittan's Cabinet. At the time of writing, a flattered Madelin said he had heard nothing about such a move, but that only gives the story more credibility - on the grounds that the successful candidate is bound to be the last to know.