Phil Hogan, Europe’s trade commissioner, resigns

TOP TRADE negotiators are renowned for being astute and tough. When Phil Hogan took over as the European Commission’s negotiator last year, he was seen a bruiser, and a worthy match for Robert Lighthizer, his American counterpart. But on August 26th, less than a year into his tenure, Mr Hogan departed the ring.

The cause was an injudicious trip to Ireland, during which the government claims he breached covid-19 public-health guidelines. For a start, he did not go into quarantine for 14 days upon his arrival. Then he attended a golf-society dinner along with other public figures, which created a furore in Ireland and led to the resignation of a minister who also attended the event. In his resignation letter Mr Hogan said that the controversy “was becoming a distraction” from his work.

The outcome may come as a surprise. Commissioners are sacked only rarely, and mostly for blatant corruption. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, was clearly in a tough spot. Officials in Brussels are supposed to sit above national politics, and forcing Mr Hogan to jump risked the appearance of submitting itself to a national capital. But allowing him to stay would have ignored bubbling anger in Ireland.

Mr Hogan had grand plans when he took office, including ensuring that the transatlantic trade...