This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The German government has said it has “a very high level of confidence” in Jean-Claude Juncker, after the European commission president stumbled repeatedly at a Nato summit.



The government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, made the statement in response to questions about Juncker’s health, after he was helped by EU leaders when he lost his footing at an outdoor music event before a gala dinner at the Brussels summit.

The presidents of Finland and Ukraine supported him during the musical interlude, where there were no chairs for spectators, and he was helped by the prime ministers of the Netherlands and Portugal as he descended the podium steps.

Juncker was later pictured entering the dinner in a wheelchair.



The commission’s chief spokesman said on Friday that Juncker had “suffered from a very particularly painful attack of sciatica, accompanied by cramps”.



“He is getting medication, which is prescribed for this sort of issue,” said the spokesman, who was not able to say whether Juncker was taking over-the-counter painkillers or stronger prescription medication.



The spokesman said Juncker’s ability to do his job was not affected.



Sciatica is pain and numbness in the bottom and legs that can cause difficulties walking.



The episode had prompted speculation that Juncker had been drinking. His spokesperson said: “I think it’s more than tasteless that some press try to make insulting headlines by exploiting President Juncker’s pain.”

Asked whether Juncker had mixed alcohol with painkillers on the day of the summit, the spokesperson said he was “not aware of this happening”.

Juncker is known to enjoy a drink but he has always hit back at claims of alcoholism.

“Do you think I would still be in post if I had Cognac for breakfast?” he asked Libération in 2016. Juncker told the paper he had had problems with his left leg ever since a car accident in 1989 left him in a coma for three months and using a wheelchair for a further six months.

Juncker was also unsteady on his feet at the Irish parliament in June, prompting questions about whether he had drunk too much. “I have some difficulties to walk. I am not drunk. I have sciatica. I would prefer to be drunk,” he retorted.

The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, told Dutch TV that he was not aware that Juncker had “serious health problems” but knew that he “had a back problem for a while”.



Juncker, who is not standing again as commission president when his term ends in 2019, was meeting Donald Trump’s new ambassador to Brussels on Friday. He is due to visit Beijing, Tokyo and Madrid next week, as well as chair the regular meeting of EU commissioners in Brussels.

