some opposition to some of the fundamental political choices that you presented to us in July: I refer to the ambiguity on the subjects of war and peace, to the excessive emphasis that you place on the market and on competitiveness, and to the acceleration that you wish to impose on the processes of liberalisation. I allude to some of the political choices that we would equate, if I may say so, Mr President, clearly with the right. For these reasons, Mr Barroso, you will not have our vote of confidence tomorrow. 
Maaten (ALDE ).
    Madam President, I shall try to finish what I have to say before the roof collapses. Mr Barroso, you persuaded me to vote for you this summer, and, now that the gun smoke is clearing and I can now inspect the battlefield, I have to say that I was right to give you my vote back then. I said at the time that I thought that a President of the Commission had to be a leader and a democrat at the same time. To be both is a tremendous balancing act and you have skilfully negotiated the tightrope.
The witch-hunt by the Greens against Mrs Kroes demands a response. If you take their thinking to its logical conclusion, it would follow that a doctor could not be responsible for public health, a former trade union leader could not handle social policy, a woman could not deal with emancipation, and a Green could not head up environmental policy. If ever I need a referee, I prefer to choose someone who can play football. Moreover, nobody is bound by so stringent a code of conduct as a Commissioner, and that too is institutional reform. Mr Barroso, your Commission has outstanding ambitions in the field of economic regeneration and the combating of discrimination. Like my group, I expect more democratisation as well.
To sum up, the European Commission, as an institution, has, in fact, been held up in its work of submitting proposals for legislation since last Christmas, and I think it has slept for long enough now. President Barroso, get on with waking up Sleeping Beauty and go in to bat. Tomorrow, 