European Union Commisioner Günter Verheugen is becoming a burden for Germany's upcoming European Commission presidency. His controversial private life has triggered speculation over Verheugen's possible resignation.European Union Commisioner Günter Verheugen is becoming a burden for Germany's upcoming European Commission presidency.
In only two years as the EU's commissioner for industry, Verheugen has gone from being a celebrated star to a problem case. His successes have been modest. His attempts to market himself for other top posts, such as Germany's foreign minister, have failed. And his relationship with the powerful Brussels bureaucracy is now hopelessly in shambles -- so much so that cooperation seems almost completely impossible these days.
As if that weren't enough, the married 62-year-old is now coming under scrutiny in his private life. A photo of the commissioner on vacation in Lithuania, holding hands with a 48-year-old woman, recently surfaced in the press, apparently confirming the malicious rumors Grässle claims have been "making the rounds in Brussels for a long time." Far from some anonymous acquaintance, the woman in the damaging photo is Petra Erler, a close associate of Verheugen since 1999. This spring Erler was promoted to director of Verheugen's cabinet, a career move that comes with a raise from salary group A 12 (€9,045 a month) to A 14 (€11,579 a month).
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