Former Finance Minister and stalwart right hand man to the Pedro Passos Coelho government, Vítor Gaspar has been given a new job by the Portuguese president of the EU Durão Barroso.
The former Minister of Finance will be an advisor to the EU on the Taxation of the Digital Economy - in fact he will chair this exciting new group using his trade mark, laugh-a-minute style.
The position is unpaid and aims to help Brussels develop fiscal policy for the sector which has managed to remain unregulated and largely ungovernable.
Gaspar commented "Throughout my career I have always been linked to European affairs."
He resigned from the last job that was linked to European affairs on July 1st this year which led to a power struggle which in turn damaged Portugal’s political credibility, involved Portugal’s president in an unsuccessful attempt to force through a degree of party cohesion and cooperation and left Coelho wounded and weakened with Paulo Portas as an unwanted bedfellow as deputy PM.
Let’s hope that Gaspar’s new role will have rather less dramatic consequences should he chose to step down.
