Okay, but can I say "Yes" to somewhat-naked Americans also named "Petra"?
That's All-American Petra Verkaik, for those who don't know...
Posted on 12/07/2006 11:58:23 PM PST by MadIvan
Europe's second-highest ranking commissioner was fighting to save his political career last night over pictures showing him naked on a beach with his chief of staff.
Günther Verheugen, who is married, is shown — wearing only a baseball cap — with his newly promoted aide, Petra Erler, on a nudist beach in Lithuania.
José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, rushed to the aid of his German Vice-President yesterday, saying that he expected “people’s private spheres” to be respected.
However, controversy over Mr Verheugen, 62, who is also Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, is raging in Germany, three weeks before the country is due to take over the European Union presidency.
Media coverage has completely overshadowed the plans of Angela Merkel, the Chancellor, for the presidency, such as membership negotiations with Turkey and revival of the European constitution.
The mass circulation Bild newspaper published details yesterday of Mr Verheugen’s holiday with Ms Erler, 48, in August when the couple were seen paddling in the sea and relaxing in the dunes. His wife did not join them on holiday. Bild did not publish the photographs, but Focus magazine is expected to publish the photographs on Monday.
Mr Verheugen strenuously denied any intimate relationship with Ms Erler after Focus published earlier pictures of his Lithuanian holiday in which the couple could be seen holding hands. “I believe the question of with whom and where I spend my holiday in August is a purely private affair, which does not concern anyone other than my wife who was informed about it,” he said.
The commissioner is one of the most powerful in Brussels, not only as deputy to Mr Barroso, but is also at the helm of a campaign to break the bureaucratic stranglehold on industry.
In a recent interview, Mr Verheugen criticised the EU bureaucracy for not adapting to the new political culture. “There is a view that the more regulations you have, the more rules you have, the more Europe you have,” he said. “I don’t share that view.”
As a result Mr Verheugen has made enemies in Brussels. So too, it seems, has Ms Erler, who is regarded as the key figure in Mr Verheugen’s department. Both enjoy special protection in Berlin. Mr Verheugen is a senior Social Democrat, and sacking him would cause a crisis in Germany’s Grand Coalition Government. Ms Erler is the only East German in the higher ranks of the European Union and was a member of the last East German Government. One of her staff at that time was a certain Angela Merkel, then a lowly press spokeswoman.
That support now looks shaky. Mr Verheugen was widowed in the 1980s, then remarried to Gabrielle. Mrs Verheugen says that she knew of her husband’s summer holiday to Nida on the Baltic coast of Lithuania last August. Mr Barroso has also defended Mr Verheugen’s promotion of Ms Erler.
The new photographs will raise eyebrows, but still do not prove that Mr Verheugen was lying about his relationship with Ms Erler. They could, however, be seen as violating the Commission code of ethics.
Herbert Reul, the Christian Democratic European Parliament deputy, called for his resignation. “It’s unacceptable that an EU Commissioner should be running around naked on a beach with a senior female colleague,” he said.
The Government’s main hope is that Focus may relent and not publish the snapshots.
Commissioners caught out
Edith Cresson
Hired her dentist as a scientific adviser in 1999, while she was Comissioner for Education, Research and Sciences. He was paid £100,000 for two-and-a-half years’ work, which was declared useless
Jacques Barrot
In 2004, failed to reveal a previous conviction for embezzlement, later voided by a 1995 presidential amnesty. However, became Transport Commissioner
Rocco Buttiglione
Rejected as Italian nominee after expressing the view that women belonged in the family and that homosexuality was a sin
Ingrida Udre
Withdrawn as Latvian nominee after protests in Latvia about a corruption inquiry into her party and her waste of taxpayers' money by taking her hair stylist on foreign trips
Yeah...it is hard to tell the difference between 70 year old naked German women and 70 yeard old naked Dutch women on Tenerife.
Well, the least you could do is post a link and then put us on the horns of a dilemma...so to speak.
From growing up in Hawaii, I don't know whats worse.
The europeans who go naked on the beaches, or europeans who go in speedos.
Either way, it scars you for life.
Not "Dutch" - DEUTSCH. Heidi Klum is German. Save your supposedly know-it-better comments for occassions when you actually know it better.
GRRRRREAT rant by Nigel. Thanks for linking.
Sorry man, haven´t read your comment to the end. LOL. SHAME SHAME SHAME ON ME!!!!
Oh look, its the european version of Melinda and Bill Clinton.
Hey, that looks to be in Walnut Creek CA, right close to me - know these gals personally, by chance?!?
-Yossarian, the batchelor
Okay, but can I say "Yes" to somewhat-naked Americans also named "Petra"?
That's All-American Petra Verkaik, for those who don't know...
I believe it is WC, and sadly I am not personally acquainted with these young ladies so I'll not be able to help you out.
I found it doing a google image search for "German girls" and up they popped, among other things.
L
If your spheres are big enough they'll be respected.
Oh, goodie. Another "the naked human body is an horrific thing" thread. Sigh.
Nigel Farage...
...what a seat pooper.
He get's loads of euro cash (wich he doesn't like) just for his mockery of an institution that tries to keep europe free. After 4pm he goes home laughing aloud over his voters that he caught with english nationalism.
So in fact they are planning to liberise the EU internal market ( content of the constitution). How dare he call that arrogant ?
So maybe they'll set up an EU foreign minister so the EU can face know how and job export to China ? Well - how arrogant of them.
So there are ex communists in Estonia and Hungary now working for the forthcomming of their countries ? Well that's everytime better then a guy who was voted into the european parliament as a breaking block and sandcastlestomper.
Thank you nigel for showing us what's worse then a communist dictator.
Verheugen is framed for his work in the anti-bureaucracy task force.
He called the all migthy officals a bunch of sloths and started cleaning up - 2 month later his relationship was leaked.
By strangling it in red tape, drowning it in regulations and creating an unaccountable bureaucracy? Give me an effing break.
We learned everything we need to know about the EU when it refused to kill the "Constitution" dead after the French and Dutch rejected it. It's anti-democratic, wasteful and socialist. To hell with it.
Ivan
L
Oh yeah! I like this guy!
Freeing the internal market is socialistic ? Give me a break.
Because he earns a good 500k€ the year for a 6h job ?
Or because he's never done anything constructive at all ?
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