Juncker the Drunker dribbles in meetings, says former Foreign Office man amid claims he downed a Campari, 3 glasses of wine and 3 Sambucas in an hour.
- Newspapers in Juncker's native Luxembourg had details of drinking binge
- Juncker would be so drunk by midday he was incapable of work, according to British ex-Minister of Europe
- Mr Juncker, 59, has been dogged by rumours of a drink problem for years
By Simon Walters, Mail on Sunday Political Editor
Published: 19:00 EST, 28 June 2014 | Updated: 03:26 EST, 29 June 2014
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New EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker faced shock new claims about his drinking last night.
A former Tory Foreign Office Minister who has worked with him closely said he drinks so heavily he ‘dribbles’ during meetings and is often ‘incapable of working after lunchtime’.
And a newspaper in Mr Juncker’s native Luxembourg carried lurid details of a drinking binge he allegedly embarked upon.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) and Jean Claude Juncker (right), the new president of the European Commission raise a glass in celebration
The prominent British politician, who served as Minister for Europe, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘All the stories about Juncker’s drinking are true. I know because I had to work with him. He is a complete drunk.
‘I regarded it as pointless talking to him after 12 o’clock because at times he seemed incapable of working, so drunk you couldn’t get any sense out of him. It is every bit as bad as people say. I have seen him so p****d that he was dribbling.
Mr Juncker is said to have drunk one Campari, three glasses of wine and three Sambucas in an hour
‘Everyone in Brussels knows that Juncker drinks far too much. I would call him an alcoholic. Talk to European politicians in private and they will all tell you about his drink problem.’
The politician, who spoke to The Mail on Sunday on condition of anonymity, said Mr Juncker’s drinking was not the only reason he was unfit to be EC President.
‘He is totally wrong for the job and isn’t any good. I was talking to a senior French politician only the other day and he agreed with me that Juncker is useless.’
Mr Juncker, 59, has been dogged by rumours of a drink problem for years.
Summit tables were said to have been awash with alcohol during his 20-year tenure as Prime Minister of Luxembourg. He resigned as a result of a spy scandal last year.
The newspaper Letzebuerg Privat (Luxembourg Private), has referred to him as the country’s ‘drunken stupor premier’.
Last year it ran a front-page report, accompanied by a photo of him guzzling drinks, in which it was alleged that he quaffed ‘a Campari, three glasses of wine and three Sambucas in only two hours’.
German journal Der Spiegel said: ‘Juncker no longer cares what others think about him.
‘When he has to take a leak during a summit meeting, he says with a smirk he goes to the ladies’ room, because the men’s room is too dirty for him. His image fluctuates between two extremes, Mr Euro and Mr Idiot.’
Despite being a member of the EU’s Centre-Right political grouping, Juncker has been called ‘the most socialist Christian Democrat there is’.
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He has also been accused of arrogance and admits being deceitful when it suits his political purposes. ‘When it becomes serious you have to lie,’ he said while handling the Eurozone crisis.
Another German publication, Junge Welt, called him ‘a ruthless opportunist’ who had done more for the EU’s bankers than for its people. ‘Juncker is not a Democrat in the strict sense. He is a master of the back stairs,’ it said.
Juncker’s own comments would appear to lend credibility to the claims. In 2011 he said: ‘Monetary policy is a serious issue.
‘We should discuss this in secret, in the Eurogroup. I am for secret, dark debates.’
He is a multi-millionaire through several bank and political jobs, has a £2m townhouse in Luxembourg city and a property in the country. He is married but does not have children.
He is not the first EU President from his country to have a reputation for drinking. Jacques Santerre, the Luxembourg-born Commission President from 1995-1999, was known as ‘Jacques Sancerre’ due to his supposed fondness for fine French wines.
Mr Juncker’s office refused to comment.