"His first five years made his instincts clear"

Mr Barroso’s job is to act as referee. His first five years made his instincts clear. Although he favours EU integration in many spheres, he does not believe that nation-states are the enemy of Europe. He thinks national governments enjoy a democratic legitimacy that hard-core integrationists ignore at their peril. But he is not without faults. He likes the limelight, and talks forever at press conferences. At times, he has been slow to speak out against big EU governments when they bend the rules. His allies counter that he wants to achieve things, and dislikes playing to the Brussels gallery with bold statements or doomed projects.

But he also has more virtues than Brussels insiders admit. It matters greatly that Mr Barroso grew up under a dictatorship in Portugal. He is a liberal who believes in open borders, for people and goods.

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