Politics Unofficial

“Last chance”: How migration came to us

Magnus Brunner from Vorarlberg found out just a few minutes before the announcement by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that he would be Europe's super cop.(Bild: BMF/Ronald Thekkumcoil)

It was the surprise of the week. Finance Minister Magnus Brunner, of all people, becomes EU Commissioner for Migration. The background to Ursula von der Leyen's decision. 

In the summer, Magnus Brunner joked in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper: "If Ursula von der Leyen looks at my CV, then it probably won't be the migration portfolio." The former Finance Minister was very much mistaken. He had guessed an economic or financial portfolio.