Juncker asks for ‘a little respect’

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday asked for a little respect when journalists requested him to clarify whether his staggering before the working dinner for NATO leaders was indeed caused by sciatica.

Speculation about Juncker’s alcohol propensity, which has followed him for years, resurfaced after footage was released showing him barely maintaining his balance and being assisted by present leaders to stay on his feet before the working dinner on Wednesday evening attended by NATO leaders at the summit. Following that, a photograph of Juncker sitting in a wheelchair also emerged.

Juncker’s spokespersons attributed his stumbling to sciatica, which often disrupts his normal movement and causes pain in his back and leg.

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When asked if it was true that his spokespersons’ explanation of sciatica and that he was not under the influence of alcohol was accurate, Juncker replied: “It was true last Wednesday, it was true this morning, and it will be true tonight and tomorrow morning. I am really surprised by the interest some show in these marginal issues and I ask for a little respect.”

Juncker has faced rumors for years regarding his alcohol propensity, often used by Eurosceptic politicians and media who have repeatedly questioned his ability to lead the Commission. British Eurosceptic media have been at the forefront of this, especially in 2014 during the campaign for the European Parliament and for the candidate for President of the European Commission.

However, it was not only British media that reported on this. Der Spiegel wrote in 2014 that Juncker’s alcohol propensity had been a “public secret” in Luxembourg for years, quoting Luxembourg journalist Pascal Steinwachs in Letzebuerger Journal that “malicious tongues claim that Juncker actually has no problem with alcohol, but without it.”

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The French daily Liberation reported at the time, citing an unnamed diplomat, that Juncker was the only one who dared to smoke at meetings in the EU Council, that he made a smoking area around him and ordered apple juice with alcohol, but that no one had ever seen him drunk, perhaps just a little slowed down, and that it did not prevent him from successfully leading Eurogroup meetings that could last until the early morning hours.

Juncker told Spiegel that he is also health-wise ready for the challenges of the job of President of the European Commission and has no objection to the media scrutinizing leading candidates. “But I would like to be asked about politics, not about my alcohol problems, which I do not have,” Juncker said before he was elected President of the European Commission.