Nick Clegg über Hans-Peter Martin

Der Spitzenkandidat der Liberalen Demokraten bei den britischen Parlamentswahlen, Nick Clegg, verfolgte bereits als EU-Abgeordneter ähnliche Reformziele wie sein damaliger Kollege H.P. Martin. In der bekannten Tageszeitung "The Guardian" beschrieb Clegg sein besonderes Verhältnis zu Martins "fesselndem Ein-Mann-Feldzug als ein Pro-Europäer".

 Auszüge:
"I knew Mr. Martin as an earnest, sligthly aloof, member of the trade and industry committee, on which I also sit. With his small spectacles and long scarf, which he seemed to wear all year round, he could have been a Prof straight out of a university English literature department...
In a matter of days, Mr Martin has become the most talked about, vilified and feared MEP in Brussels...
Mr Martin told me this morning: The system, he claims, needs a major shock if real reform is to occur. MEPs must be rattled hard before they come to their senses. Trying to coax them in a reformist direction just doesn`t work. Maybe he`s right. It´s an old debate: incremental reform versus shock therapy.
Intriguingly, Mr. Martin says he is conducting his one-man crusade as a pro-European.
Only time will tell. Will Mr Martin prove to be the bold reformer who single-handedly shook the system to its foundations in order that it could re-establish itself on a sounder footing?"

Erschienen in der britischen Tageszeitung "The Guardian" - "Hans and the cookie jar - Nick Clegg on an MEP whose one-man crusade against the EU expenses scandal is shaking Brussels to the core", 26.04.2004.