It is perfectly normal that people and politicians act according to their individual advantage. This is popular knowledge in political science since Machiavelli in the 15th century. Hoping for the heads of state to put the well-being of ideals before the well-being of their particular interest is a noble wish but unlikely. Waiting for it is indeed a hopeless thing.

It is not the socialists as a movement that fail in this case. It is the decision making process that leads to such an outcome. The whole procedure how the Commission President is chosen is “festered” and the symptoms that you complain about are a demonstration of it. It has nothing to do with political families as such. The liberals and greens have the same problems. And the conservatives would have the same problems if they were not in the majority.

In my eyes it’s the process that needs to be changed. Hoping that the European parties (that are helpless in the face of governments decisions) change their approach means hoping that Machiavelli’s observations can be overcome.

When the deal was made some people have speculated that the it was all about the following: the SPÖ will get the post of director-general of ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, which is – as public broadcaster – by far the most influential media of the country) and the ÖVP can get the post of EU Commissioner (who is not important at all for winning elections in Austria).

More in an interview here (last paragraph) and a press release here.