Reding plucks up courage against Sarkozy

In contrast to EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has unequivocally criticised France's Roma policy, the daily Der Standard writes approvingly: "If it had been left up to ... Barroso, this slap in the face for Paris would have been considerably milder. He even managed to avoid mentioning the word Roma at all during his 'State of the Union' address last week. Reding herself was very reserved at the time, entirely in tune with the style of her master who always tries to avoid ruffling the feathers of any head of state or government, let alone those of the spleenish Nicolas Sarkozy. Now Reding has made up for her reserve with unparalleled clarity, not caring at all that she was dealing with a party colleague. That's how you have to talk as a politician when fundamental rights are at stake. And not just when dealing with primitive xenophobia, but also when it's cloaked in bureaucratic attire as we're seeing with the government in Paris. Populist Sarkozy, who wanted to divert attention from scandals with scapegoats, is the one who will fare the worst from this affair."

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