By Erik Kirschbaum in Berlin

    Politicians are masters at beating around the bush. But when the very master of that art in the European Union lets his guard down for a moment and candidly admits that it is precisely those political instincts that are thwarting progress on climate
protection, it’s worth taking note.

    Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, let the cat out of the bag about his colleagues in an interview with German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. He said that politicians — surprise, surprise! — are far too worried about their next election to seriously consider tackling a long-term problem like climate change.

    Barroso said that his three children said they thought it was great the way he was trying to lead the EU to reduce CO2 emissions and he insisted he wasn’t worried about them looking back at some point in the future to complain that he and other politicians failed to do enough about global warming.

    “But I’ll be open with you,” Barroso said. “A lot of politicians do not seem to think beyond the next two or three years. And our planet isn’t going to perish in the next four years. So, with an eye on the next election, it may seem like the right thing to do, delay solving the problem. But for the future generations it’s vital that we show courage and
leadership – now!”

    With elections looming in the next two or three years in pretty much every country around the world, it doesn’t seem like there is much hope of slowing climate change.