Jeroen Dijsselbloem re-elected head of the Eurogroup – The World

Le Monde | 13/07/2015 at 6:12 p.m. • Updated 07/13/2015 at 7:02 p.m. | By Jean-Pierre Stroobants (Brussels, European office) and Cécile Ducourtieux (Brussels, European office)

It’s a little unknown who cracked on the occasion of the Greek crisis. The Dutchman Jeroen Dijsselbloem, was re-elected Monday, July 13, President of the Eurogroup, on the sidelines of another meeting of this body that brings together the finance ministers of the euro area dedicated to Greece. In a vote, he obtained the majority and the Eurogroup was agreed unanimously to accept it. It will therefore continue to combine this strategic function with that of Minister of Finance of the Netherlands for two and a half years, as provided in the texts.

For 49 years, Social Democrat at the pace of discreet and polite technocrat has benefited from its experience in recent weeks, where he was the heart of the negotiations leading to an agreement with Greece, Monday, July 13 in the morning. Chosen by chance in January 2013 in this position, where he succeeded Jean-Claude Juncker, now president of the European Commission, he had a difficult start, especially unprepared manner of expressing themselves during the Cyprus crisis.

But Mr Dijsselbloem managed to catch her image by falcon figure in the Greek crisis, ranking as the year the German camp, personified by Wolfgang Schäuble, the redoubtable Minister of Finance Merkel . Mr Schäuble, vouerait him, they say, friendship and paternal admiration. Called “the German hoof” by Greek and Dutch media Jeroen Dijsselbloem has indeed been very difficult in January relationships with Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek finance minister, Mr Schäuble hate.

Officially, the Social Democrats has always wanted to show solidarity towards Greece. But if he left always said he recently told the Dutch magazine Vrij Nederland , that he was hostile to the “ideological discourse” , t-esteem He, lead nowhere. This obvious antipathy for Varoufakis has, in any case, to turn it into finished bogey for a part of the Greek people and the European left, which accuses him of flouting the values ​​of solidarity and focus on the cost to the Dutch and others, which has already been granted, and will probably be in Athens.

“The little pet dog of Germany” , recently joked a Dutch journalist asking whether his compatriot not added more to ensure the support of Berlin in the race for re-election against the Spanish Minister Luis de Guindos. He had publicly submitted their candidature and had received support from Angela Merkel, on behalf of their common membership of the European People’s Party (EPP, conservative). But Mr Dijsselbloem managed to show he could be just as strict on public finances despite his affiliation.

Even if those who toil in Paris or elsewhere, believed that his affiliation to the Dutch Socialist Party would make him the man of compromise. However, this has not prevented France to support its renewal, the name, again, of the common political affiliation to European social democrats. And the agreement reached in the snatch Monday morning, it would be a shame to ruin by a new European governance crisis.