Times are tough. Young and old unemployed have difficulties to get a job. Especially the old ones. For the known and rather obvious reasons. But not Barroso. The former European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso got a new job: he is hired by the Goldman Sachs. The job description requires that the ex EC who served also as Prime Minister of Portugal will advise the US investment bank on the fallout of Brexit.
Barroso will become a non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs International (GSI), the bank’s international arm based in London.
“Jose Manuel brings immense insights and experience to Goldman Sachs,including a deep understanding of Europe,” GSI co-chief executives, Michael Sherwood and Richard Gnodde, said in a statement.
Barroso’s salary has not become public. Of course.
With or without salary publishing, Barroso’s appointment drew criticism from across the political spectrum, in fact an outcry, especially in Portugal and France. Elsewhere, the new job of ex EC official was met with irony and despise but also sharp criticism on EU
Pedro Filipe Soares, a leader in Portugal’s radical Left Bloc that supports the ruling leftist coalition, said: “This nomination shows that the European elite of which Barroso is part knows no shame.”
France’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Matthias Fekl, meanwhile, tweeted: “Serving the people badly, serving yourself at Goldman Sachs: Barroso, an undecent representative of an old Europe that our representative will change.”
Barroso was EC President 2004-2014 and steered the EU through the global financial crisis that peaked in 2008. Now he is to serve the private financial sector? And moreover to serve the Goldman Sachs “one of the main actors in the complex global financial crisis that centered on risky subprime mortgages in the US housing market” that was also involved in Greek Bonds cooking?
Legally, he can get the job as former EC chiefs are obligated for a period of 18 months. But on the ethical level? “Conflict of interest” is the least one can say about it. It also hurts the image of the EC. But who cares about the image of EC and EU?
In an editorial, French daily Le Monde simply asked the European Commission to forbid its former President to become an employee at Goldman Sachs. Le Monde’s article has the title: Jose Manuel Barroso, the Anti-European!
PS On the other hand: how can an unemployed 60-year-old find a job except through contacts from good old times?
Why can’t some of these idiots just retire ???
I’m sure Barroso will argue that we should be grateful that he is pulling his weight. He has single-handedly reduced unemployment in Portugal by one. Hard to disagree with the logic…
Here’s some obvious systemic corruption for that idiot Tukan to comment on. Nobody in his right mind would employ Barroso to do anything: I doubt that he could even make a decent cup of tea. He is employed to protect banking interests, and ensure that politicians do as they are told. It;s enough to make you vomit…
Paf. Barroso and Goldman are just making it official….
Here’s another big banking story: how HSBC facilitated money-laundering, collaborated with mafia and terrorists, broke all the laws and agreements in banking, and was not prosecuted because “it would have destabilised the banking system”.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/11/hsbc-us-money-laundering-george-osborne-report
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On a similar note, the new PM of the UK is married to a merchant banker, and her only rival for the job (until today) was also involved in merchant banking. Basically, most of these people need to be in prison cells and we put them in positions of great power instead.
Just in case someone didn’t notice:
In the runup to this year’s conference, the Portuguese press had reported how Balsemão had nominated his fellow countryman, José Manuel Barroso, the former European commission president, to replace him on the steering committee (of Bilderger).
Published by Bilderberger.org, TonyGosling, Jun 16, 2015.
Expecting a shadow of shame, ethical awareness, …????
Congrats for winning the cup! I knew that Portugal or Italy will make it.
There is really no surprise here because eventually, everything and everybody will belong to the giant squid. The revolving door between the EC and big corporations is notorious. The EU is a project not for the benefit of its people but for the benefit of rogue capitalism and big corporations. corporateeurope.org for the immense and intensive lobbying of the EC by lobbyists and corporations that goes on. Corporate consultants write whole passages of the so-called free trade agreement with the US (TTIP) while nobody from the civil society sector has access. MEP can only see (parts of) TTIP in a closed off room after signing a secrecy clause. Lobbyists work hard to influence EU policy making regarding financial regulations, pesticides, emissions, standards for chemicals, etc. Remember Dieselgate? The EC is blocking any meaningful investigation into that by the EP while the EC’s own research center already back in 2011 knew that something was not right.
“Squid” is the wrong metaphor, sorry, it was wrong 100 years ago for communism and it was wrong for the Mafia, as squids don’t have their tentacles every where, they stay at home and don’t care about what happens behind the next cap.
Also they are nice animals, sometimes one can have them on ones arm and they are just acting like a cat.
My apologies to the noble squid.