…and their substitutes

Representing the winners.

Events conspired to prevent many of the winners from receiving their awards in person at the gala dinner. Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, had won the category of EU Official of the Year, for his conduct during the eurozone’s debt crisis, but that same crisis prevented him from attending the dinner. So it was Boris Kisselevsky of the ECB’s press division who received the award on Trichet’s behalf from Philippe Cayla, chairman and chief executive of Euronews.

Kristalina Georgieva was there to receive the European Commissioner of the Year award in person from Rob Mack, chief executive of the Brussels office of Burson-Marsteller.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert was voted MEP of the Year, but is no longer an MEP. She joined the Dutch national parliament at the last election. The parliament is finely balanced and she was required by her party to return from Brussels to The Hague before the dinner. The award, which was presented by Tony Graziano, director of public affairs of Digital Europe, was collected on her behalf by Tijn Sadée, a Dutch radio journalist.

There was also a stand-in recipient for the winners of the Inspiration of the Year category, the Spanish football team. The players were tied down by their match schedules. The administrators were attending meetings in Zurich, lobbying for Spain and Portugal to be chosen as the hosts for the 2018 World Cup. Ana de Miguel Langa of Spain’s permanent representation to the EU accepted the award on the team’s behalf from Susan Clark, managing director for the CEMEA region of the Economist Group.

David Cameron, the British prime minister, had also been drawn to the lobbying in Zurich, to press the rival suit of the UK to host the 2018 World Cup. His deputy prime minister Nick Clegg was en route to Kazakhstan for the summit of the Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe. So it fell to Timothy Kirkhope and Graham Watson, senior members of the European Parliament, to deputise for their respective party leaders. They received the trophy from David Earnshaw, chairman of Burson-Marsteller’s Brussels office.

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