Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to get rid of “rigid stovepipes”, as she unveiled plans for her second mandate yesterday (17 September). She may indeed seek to avoid the kind of stiff structures that can lead to isolated and contradictory policymaking. But complex compound portfolios and overlapping responsibilities risk making her Commission look more like tangled spaghetti. Weird pairingsOne common theme of the new portfolios she has handed to her 26 lieutenants is the creation of exotic compound briefs. Slovakia’s Maroš Šefčovič will pair trade — a flagship policy area whe…