Grande Durão

“Among those voting against Mr Barroso’s team will be the 200 members of the socialist block, the 42 greens and an unknown number of the 88 liberals. Mr Barroso hopes to win over the liberals by promising tough and early action against discrimination. His allies in the national capitals, who reserve the right to nominate whomever they want as commissioner, will also lean on their countrymen and party colleagues in Strasbourg. But if the naysayers muster a majority of the 732 MEPs, the new commission cannot take office, and the outgoing commission must stay in place until the impasse is resolved.
Less than a month ago, some prominent Europeans were touting the European Union’s common Christian heritage as a source of social cohesion and cultural unity. This shared religious identity, they said, should not be put in jeopardy by the entry of a large Muslim country, such as Turkey. But the true schism, it seems, is between the Christians and the post-Christians. Mr Buttiglione’s views certainly conserve ugly prejudices, but they are not fringe beliefs, at odds with papal orthodoxy. The church takes a dim view of sex with no possibility of procreation. Mr Buttiglione is in fact an authority on Catholic doctrine, who reportedly helps to write papal encyclicals. So if his beliefs lie within Catholic orthodoxy, does Catholic orthodoxy lie outside the mainstream of European beliefs?”

[in Economist]

Nisto Durão Barroso mantém-se fiel a si mesmo: quando um erro não resulta, insiste-se!

j.marioteixeira@sapo.pt