Chris Patten was in Oxford today, attending the ceremony which saw him sworn in as chancellor of Oxford University. Quite an important event apparently, because it meant he had to miss an EU-US summit in Washington, swopping his guise as External Relations Commissioner of the EU for some traditional Oxford robes, gown and a service partly in Latin.
Meanwhile, some of the issues on the negotiating table at the summit include the extradition of alleged terrorists to the US, a challenge on the EU moratorium on GM crops, global warming and world trade.
It’s a shame that Patten couldn’t make it to the summit, rather than officially accepting what is largely a tokenistic role. The previous chancellor Roy Jenkins himself described it as 'impotence assuaged by grandeur' - but how many current and recent Oxford students only knew that Roy Jenkins had been university chancellor when his death was announced? What impact does the chancellor really have?
It was reported in the Guardian today that the EU commission claimed “the rigidities of the Oxford calendar” were responsible for Patten’s non-attendance. Hopefully the rigidities of the US negotiating position on what are life and death issues for millions around the world will be slightly more flexible.
It’s a shame that Patten couldn’t make it to the summit, rather than officially accepting what is largely a tokenistic role. The previous chancellor Roy Jenkins himself described it as 'impotence assuaged by grandeur' - but how many current and recent Oxford students only knew that Roy Jenkins had been university chancellor when his death was announced? What impact does the chancellor really have?
It was reported in the Guardian today that the EU commission claimed “the rigidities of the Oxford calendar” were responsible for Patten’s non-attendance. Hopefully the rigidities of the US negotiating position on what are life and death issues for millions around the world will be slightly more flexible.
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