Posted on Sep 10, 2021
The "breathtaking hypocrisy" of Michel Barnier
The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is reportedly considering throwing his hat into the ring running for the French presidency in 2022.
However, his "manifesto", such as it is at present, appears to be little more than a ploy to take votes away from Marine Le Pen, who looks set to give the increasingly beleaguered incumbent Emmanuel Macron a run for his money.
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Of course, fake "opposition" parties, whose sole purpose is to split the opposition, are nothing new - consider the plethora of "anti-Putinists" who run in each and every Russian election.
Barnier has attacked the European Court of Justice, saying that France's role should be limited.
In what can best be described as a "Farage-esque moment" he said: "We must regain our legal sovereignty so that we are no longer subject to the rulings of the European Court of Justice or the European Court of Human Rights."
British Conservative MP Michael Fabricant accused Mr Barnier of "breathtaking hypocrisy".
"This is the same Michel Barnier who during the Brexit negotiations tried to belittle the UK for demanding control over our courts and our borders. Now he wants the same for France," he said.
Barnier has also conjured up out of thin air a hardline stance on immigration, always a reliable way of winning the populist vote.
The man once described as the "the EU's resident lounge lizard" has struggled to find a role after his brief spell in the limelight as Brexit negotiator. However, former European Commission official Mujtaba Rahman said Mr Barnier was "embarrassing himself, and the rest of Europe".
In 2018 Barnier stressed the importance of the EU's insistence that any Brexit agreement must include the European Court of Justice providing permanent judicial oversight over future EU-U.K. relations.
Breathtaking hypocrisy indeed!
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