HOBBY-HORSES FOR COURSES

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How has The Record Europe been going on in my (semi-continuing) absence?
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Going back to 2nd May (prior to the election), we find the programme plugging the BBC line on Greece. Not 'why should Greece be bailed out by European taxpayers for its years of reckless spending, creative accounting, tax evasion and public sector profligacy?' but "We'll be asking how Europe's politicians can wrestle control back from the markets and save Europe's single currency." Maybe Greece doesn't deserve to be saved from the markets and maybe Europe's single currency doesn't deserve saving either. That, however, was something Shirin Wheeler and co. were unwilling even to entertain.
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Shirin's introduction went on: "Also on the programme, Europe's consumer groups plead with the EU institutions to stand firm against airlines in upholding passenger rights in the wake of the disruption caused by the volcanic dust cloud from Iceland".
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The BBC has been berating the poor Germans (and, yes, I do feel for them over this) over their reluctance to fork out their hard-worked-for money to bail out the feckless Greeks. Shirin slammed the Northern Europeans for "dithering" over the rescue of prodigal Greece and said that the German tabloids have "been screaming in protest" - hardly a neutral way of putting it! The sensible Angela Merkel, not keen on the bailout - like the majority of her countrymen - was presented as playing party politics over the issue: "What's not helping (helping who exactly Shirin? The feckless Greeks? The Europhiles cause?) is a critical election in the German state of Nordrhein Westphalia..." German cold feet (bad!) were contrasted with EU commission resolve (good!): "Europe's monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn attempted to calm and reassure."
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No UK politicians (all home no doubt, campaigning for the general election) were involved in the following discussion between a German liberal, a Portuguese socialist, a member of what Shirin called "the centre-right Fine Gael" (though centrist would be a far more accurate description) and a Belgian member of the Dedecker List (aligned to our Conservatives, so - in Shirin's eyes - an out and out "boo!").
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As I've noted before German liberals (the FDP) are not like our left-leaning liberals, being emphatically pro-business. (Will our liberals change, now that they are in power?) They have been the party most hostile to the idea of bailing out our feckless Greek friends. So Shirin interrupted the German liberal (Wolf Klinz) and took him to task over the issue, accusing him (and his party and coalition government) of "foot-dragging". The German liberals are, however, clearly not wholly united on the issue and this German liberal - a German MEP with a plum job as chairman on a EU committee (CRIS) - had clearly "gone native", as so many Eurocrats seem to do, and was somewhat critical of his own Conservative-Liberal government's position on the issue. This established, Shirin went a bit easier on him. Only a bit though. After Herr Klinz (who seems like a pleasant enough chap) accused his own country's media of failing to "calm down the situation", which got a firm "Yes!" from the supposedly impartial presenter, Shirin, with yet more breathtaking bias, assumed a haughty air, interrupted him again and said "Your own colleagues don't really help, talking about exit from the Euro, do they?" And having slung that barb at him, she did what she usually does to UK Conservatives or UKIP spokesfolk and - without giving them the right to reply - moved on to another guest. Such behaviour could not be less improper from a supposedly impartial presenter. (When he returned later there was another question critical of the German government and another heckle from Shirin!).
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Go the German Free Democrats!
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Guy Mitchell from the highly pro-European Fine Gael, asked about the spead of the contagion, said that that it wasn't so much the markets (Shirin's point) as unscrupulous people "willing this to happen" and "out for the kill" but added that Greece's situation was largely the fault of the Greeks themselves. Fair points, I'd say. Fine Gael is (to its great credit) supporting Fine Fail's drastic recovery plan. As he was making that very point, Shirin cut him off and turned to the Portuguese socialist, Vital Moreira, in order to move the conversation away from such good sense and back to the more comfortable territory (for her) of market-bashing. She asked him about the credit rating agencies attitude to Portugal and said "this is the trouble, isn't it? It's not according to any rationality?"
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Like Mr Mitchell, Mr Moreira bridled at the comparison between his country and Greece, making some valid points to back this up, but then said that his government had acted properly and that it was the speculators who are to blame for the current crisis.
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At last she came to Derk Jan Eppink, the "Belgian Conservative". Within a matter of seconds Shirin was in on him, forcefully contradicting him. Why? Because Mr Eppink had immediately made clear that he understood the German public's concerns and said that Greece should have dropped out of the euro. Another "on the other hand" was not long in coming. Intriguingly, though, Mr Eppink declares himself to be "pro-Euro". (That declaration, made later in the discussion, didn't stop him being interrupted again as soon as his Eurosceptic side re-emerged).
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When Mr Mitchell returned and had the temerity to say that the Greeks should obviously only be bailed out if they are taking strong and credible measures (like Ireland) to get their own house in order, Shirin plunged in passionately to defend the Greek (Socialist) government's actions so far.
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When Mr Moreira complained of "schadenfreude" on the part of Eurosceptics (following some wise words from the Belgian Conservative), Shirin did not keep quiet and allow him to make his point. No she intervened to sympathise with him, saying "Well, there's some of that around certainly."
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The left-wing/Europhile bias on this programme is often choking in its intensity.
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If you still doubt that (and why would you?), the programme's second subject area - EU legislation to protect passengers' rights against the wicked airline companies - was discussed with... can you guess?
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A representative of the airlines? A British Conservative?
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No, a spokesman (David McCullough) from the Brussels-based lobby group that represents all the European consumer rights' organisation across Europe, which supports the legislation, and a Labour MEP (Brian Simpson) who helped draw up the legislation. Shirin was with them all the way, saying that "we've heard all the right words from the European institutions, Brian Simpson, but what can you, as chair of the Transport Committee, and the European commission, with whom you're working closely on this, do about this?" Head nodding throughout, Shirin did not interrupt either Mr Simpson nor Mr McCullough, nor did she play devil's advocate for the airline companies in her questions to Mr Simpson and Mr McCullough. Far from it. All her questions came from the 'take tough action' angle. All of them.

Mr McCullough and Mr Simpson (4 questions, 3.12, IC of 0) could both be right of course. As they agreed with each other, however, isn't it the duty of a neutral presenter to challenge them?: *
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A week on (9/5) and what was Shirin Wheeler's opening question? Not "Is Europe asking too much from the European tax-payer in its steps to rescue Greece? Should Greece be asked to leave the euro?" but "Is Europe asking too much of Greece? Is the price for rescue too high?" The BBC is relentless once it has a narrative in place.
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Who were Shirin's guests to discuss the issue? Stravros Lambrinidis, a Greek Socialist, Ioannis Tsoukalas from the Greek Centre-Right, Daniel Gros from the pro-European Centre for European Policy Studies ("one of Brussels's leading think tanks", according to Shirin) and Ronald Janssen from the European Trade Union Confederation.
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Shirin questions Mr Lambrinidis gently but Mr Tsoukalas more toughly, accusing his party (New Democracy) of "political game-playing" by not backing the socialist government over its austerity measures. (I think she's right, but should she have said it?) She also pressed the trade union rep over the same issue, saying that surely they too should be supporting the socialist government's austerity measures, before returning to the BBC narrative and agreeing with Mr Janssen's final point - and quoting Labour's favourite Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz to back it up!! Stiglitz says the measures will weaken the Greek economy. So, having offered the Greek Socialist government her support, Shirin then moved on to attacking the demands for austerity placed on the Greek economy, as imposed upon Greece by the IMF and the Eurozone.

She was then back on her hobby horse again, asking Mr Gros "And what of Europe's own role in this? As bad actually. You know, the foot-dragging, the lack of responsibility?" This is an opinion. (Why is she giving us her opinion?) Has Europe's "foot-dragging" been a bad thing? When Shirin talks of Europe's "lack of responsibility" (doubtless meaning the Germans and us!), shouldn't the answer have come "'Europe' isn't mainly responsible. The Greeks are." She kept banging away at it, asking later: "And this is the point. In the absence of the fiscal architecture, which I think is what people call it, there has been a lack of solidarity as well. Surely it's about time that is demonstrated." Mr Gros is closer to the Germans on this. Hence Shirin's closer questioning of him.


Available on BBC World, the BBC News Channel and BBC Parliament, and always available on the BBC website's Europe page, the programme may have a limited reach but that's surely not an excuse for it to be so shamelessly biased week in and week out.