Pöttering's expanding empire

The empire of Hans-Gert Pöttering, the president of the European Parliament, is ever-expanding. MEPs from his own party, the EPP, have been commenting that his private office (45 people at the last count) is now bigger than the staff of the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. Klaus Welle, the head of Pöttering's staff, reports in the latest edition of “news from the president's cabinet” on their ‘awayday' at the Kasteel Gravenhof in Dworp (it seems that a castle is needed to accomodate them all). The day included such delights as a presentation from Harald Rømer, the Parliament secretary-general, on “the growth in EP power and its implications for the organisation on (sic) the institution”. Welle concludes that the experience strengthened “the cohesiveness of the team”, which given its size is indeed a noteworthy achievement.