Buzzword Bingo victory interview: Barroso’s “State of the Union”

Sadly, a tropical fever reduced the editor of the Bloggingportal.eu blog to a state of such infirmity that his weekly roundup of Euroblogs was limited to the announcement of the winner of the Barroso “State of the Union” Buzzword Bingo: The Week in Bloggingportal: Bingo! (12 September 2010).

We hope for speedy and full recovery for the Bloggingportal.eu blog editor. At the same time we have a joyful message to the fans of Grahnlaw (if any):

Ralf Grahn, dix points !

This gave Grahnlaw, the blog, the opportunity to conduct a victory interview with the winner Ralf Grahn, its writer. (Speak of being close to the subject, or a lean operation in these hard times.) Here is the transcript.



Grahnlaw: What do you think where the keys to your success in a field of expert Eurobloggers?

Ralf Grahn (with a blush of false modesty): I had to place myself in the shoes of Barroso’s speechwriting team and to go for the obvious with deadpan seriousness. It gave me a trump to realise that Barroso’s address was misleadingly branded as a “State of the Union” speech, even if it was, in fact, a presentation of the Commission’s Work Programme for 2011. My tactic was to eliminate all urges to play, to succumb to humour or to give in to any creative impulses. I knew that if I slipped, I would be caught by the highly qualified competition.



Grahnlaw: What are you going to do with the coveted prize?


Ralf Grahn: The gift bag has been declared to be virtual, so no castles in Spain or anywhere else are likely to materialise. (Euro)blogging is about linking and sharing, so I am going to pass on the prize I suggested when the Barroso Buzzword Bingo was first announced: a free link to Barroso’s address. I am going to share it with all of you: the letter to the Members of the European Parliament and Barroso’s speech to the EP plenary session.



Grahnlaw: Do you have any advice for young hopeful Eurobloggers?

Ralf Grahn: You have to be resilient enough to read tons of official EU documents, train hard on a daily basis to begin to understand what they say and what they leave untold. If, after this, you still feel a passion for Europe, you may be champion stuff.



Grahnlaw: Thank you for this remarkable interview.

Ralf Grahn: My pleasure.



Your interviewer, interviewee and transcriber

Ralf Grahn