Telecoms companies’ new nemesis: The Riddler

Neelie Kroes has garnered a reputation over five years as a tough European antitrust regulator, taking on big companies for running cartels or for stomping on smaller rivals.

She also, however, is known for her often tortured public speaking (see one fine typical example here).

Today she did little to dispell that reputation, in a three-hour Q&A with euro-MPs over her new job as telecoms commissioner.

Her answers sounded often as though a box of magnetic telecoms and political buzzwords had been thrown at a fridge, along with another box made up exclusively of tiles bearing the meaningless “so-to-say” (or ‘sho-to-shay’ in her trademark Dutch drawl).

As if to cement this reknown for speaking in riddles, she also chose to sport a large sparkling brooch in the form of a question mark.

Telecoms companies beware, there’s somebody new drafting your regulations – and you may not understand them …