The Spanish Jeremy Clarkson
The European parliament has chosen stability over credibility with the approval of Spanish MEP Miguel Arias Cañete as commissioner for energy.
The principal reason is quite apart from his ridiculous and offensive comment after losing a TV debate before the European elections against his opponent Elena Valenciano that 'debating with a woman is complicated because if a man shows his intellectual superiority or whatever he gives the impression of being sexist against a defenceless woman'.
A well-dodged bullet that one, telling everyone he didn't want to appear sexist because he actually is sexist, and stupid.
While Spain was still reeling from the embarrassment of someone like this being their elected representative in Europe (a lesson perhaps in why ignoring European elections is unwise), the best was yet to come.
After the usual posturing from the Partido Popular that Cañete should be given a portfolio with sufficient weight to reflect the importance of Spain in Europe, he was proposed for the one department for which he had the clearest conflict of interests possible.
When he was named as candidate for commissioner for energy and climate change the reaction of many was nothing less than stupefaction, as it was widely known that he had strong financial interests in the petrol industry.
Perhaps we have become resigned to accept contradictions such as this in Spain, where Cañete was made minister for the environment by PM Rajoy - where he turned some of the most progressive environmental legislation in Europe completely on its head.
A few highlights include watering down the coast law, the environmental impact law and legislation protecting natural parks - all to favour business interests over conservation.
His draft of the law on public mountains, if passed, could even remove the prohibition to build on forests that have been burned down - risking a return to the days when promoters hired arsonists to clear the way for developments.
He was also vociferously in favour of fracking and authorised oil prospecting by the Canary Islands, precisely where one of the petrol companies he had shares in is based.
Perhaps he misinterpreted the role and thought the job was actually to bring about climate change.
But we should expect more from Europe when, at least in public, it makes a great deal of noise about how committed it is to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and encouraging use of renewable energy sources.
Javier Couso of United Left (IU) compared making Cañete commissioner for climate change and energy to putting a kleptomaniac in charge of the inventory for an 'everything €1' shop or making Luis Bárcenas responsible for the EU's finances.
The more conventional 'fox in charge of the henhouse' comparison was also wheeled out.
At least a show had to be made that the EU was aware of the apparent contradiction and so a series of interrogations were held.
First Cañete was made to declare his financial interests and then sold his shares (worth €326,000) in two petrol companies, Ducar and Petrologis Canarias.
However his wife still has a significant stake and his brother-in-law is the president of Ducar.
He also admitted he had 'forgot' to declare that he had been earning an additional €5,000 per month as a member of the PP electoral commission (not bad little earner that was obviously such hard work he forgot he even did it).
A final vote took place on Wednesday and the Spanish Socialists maintained their opposition, which the PP protested would be 'unpatriotic' (God forbid an MEP should consider wider interests ahead of national ones).
Despite a petition opposing his candidacy on Avaaz.org that soared past half a million people, it was a foregone conclusion it would be approved, simply because Cañete had hitched his wagon to the candidacy of Jean Claude Juncker for president of the European commission.
Juncker's proposed team included French Socialist Pierre Moscovici for Economic Affairs, a position the PP had threatened to veto if Cañete's appointment was blocked.
Ironically, this time the PP criticised the Spanish Socialists for being un-European and going against their continental colleagues (which is an interesting way of making the same point with two diametrically opposed arguments).
So instead of a forward thinking commissioner who might at least be seen to be taking the need to address climate change seriously, we get the man who the Sunday Times dubbed ' Señor Petrolhead', for his love of collecting classic cars and racing in rallies.
It even had a picture of him at the wheel in orange overalls, unfortunately making him look more like a cross between Father Christmas and a teletubby than a racing driver.
"It is enough to turn Jeremy Clarkson into a Europhile," ventured the Sunday Times article - they might as well have given Clarkson the job.