In 2004, Guy Verhofstadt lost out to José Manuel Barroso in the race to become European Commission president. Now, the former Belgian prime minister has become entwined in Mr Barroso’s bid for a second term.

From his new post as leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the European parliament’s third largest group, Mr Verhofstadt, 56, has become one of Mr Barroso’s more vocal critics. “When you look at the past, [Barroso] did a good job on the climate package – everyone can recognise that,” Mr Verhofstadt tells the Financial Times in his new office at the parliament building in Strasbourg.