It’s been the back room project of the coterie of Blair loyalists – Peter Mandelson, Jonathan Powell, and others.
So troubled has Mr Blair’s ‘non-candidacy’ for the Presidency of the EU become that both Gordon Brown and David Miliband were forced to break cover yesterday and, risking further domestic controversy, make a very public case for Mr Blair taking over the new lead role in Europe.
But the socialist group in Europe rejected their pleas, and without so prominent a bloc, Blair’s hopes are all but dead.
You read it here first – it was Snowblog that learned first of Mr Sarkozy’s rapid cooling on the matter.
The personal relationship between Nicolas and Tony remains strong, but Sarkozy is too wily a politician to have failed to spot the tide running against Blair, and with Germany’s Angela Merkel less than lukewarm on the idea, he gave up on his plan to anoint Mr Blair.
Barring ‘a walking on water’ moment, the ‘Blair project’ in Brussels is sunk.
As I blogged last week, the French are now much more excited by the idea of ‘young David (Miliband) taking over the potential more powerful EU Foreign ‘High Representative’ role.
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Perhaps if they got Sir Humphrey on the job – he would come up with something – but seriosly the thought of any of the na,mes mentioned above being president of EU – awful. It looks liek people who mihght be behind bars will continue to be our bosses ..
But Blair never said he wanted the position anyway !! Of course everybody knows he was really keen but too arrogant to actually say he wanted it. He wanted the EU to come to ask/beg him.
And he did not want to declare his desires in case he failed – such arrogance makes him unsuited to the role anyway.
This role would ideally be filled by an empty suit with a well travelled background – what is Sven doing these days ?!
The real pity in this is that Blair’s campaign for wanting to be President was always likely to fail – basically because his character and history make him unsuited to the role. But his campaign has turned the EU against appointing people from the UK. It has highlighted our recent past – Iraq – where our behaviour and budy budy with the US really caused bad splits in the EU.
The shame is that we have several people who are actually very well suited to the EU Foreign Minister role. I am thinking of Paddy Ashdown or Chris Patten. Both are pretty well above party politics, both are very experienced at bringing groups together, both are used to following other people’s agendas, etc. – basically well qualified for such a role. But Blair’s high profile campaign has effectively ruined their chances now that the EU has turned negative towards any UK applicants.
I love to say I told you so. So – I told you so.
The only benefit of President-of-the-EU-Council Blair would be royally to piss off the Euro-haters in the Tory party like Billy Hague.
Iv already said this on Twitter but im so worked up by this that I have just got to say it again, there is no way Blair should get this job as he still has to account to the British people about the Iraq war & and while im not opposed to the idea of a President we should get a chance to elect them.
It has little to do with Iraq, this is a red herring of the popular kind.Both the pro-Europeans and the anti-Europeans have belatedly realized that Blair will not simply be a European civil servant as President, but a real President (unelected) They now fear that he would become genuinely powerful and difficult, if not impossible to control.
It’s quite clear now, that they want a puppet President who the French/German alliance can manipulate and the rest of the world can ignore.
There is no such thing as socialism,it was never properly implemented anywhere for starters. All politics come under one hat to become a fat cat.Blair will always have “a few good men” backing him for job’s but everybody knows deep down he should be standing in an adjacent room to Radovan’s in the Hague facing judges not tabloid cameras whilst sitting in chaffeur driven BMWs…
adzmundo CND
During Blair’s tenure he presided over situations where political advantage overrode National Interest e.g.
During the BSE crisis New Labour claimed not to be playing politics with the issue. However, in a letter dated 19/02/97 to PPC’s in key seats which was signed by John Prescott it states; “we want this BSE campaign to run right up to the next general election”
With Foot & Mouth; Tony Blair postponed the General Election date by a month because of the risks associated with spreading Foot & Mouth Disease.
At the time I thought this was a strange political decision because logically any postponement should have been for longer because; after animals have been culled the farmer is not permitted to use the fields, in which the animals were kept, for a further 6 months. If the fields are quarantined for 6 months that implies there must be a clear scientific risk the virus can still be transmitted during that period. It may, therefore, be reasonable to assume an election postponement should really be for a minimum 6 month period following the peak of any outbreak.
Can you imagine what he’d do in Europe?
It was always obvious that the prime candidate for the EU Presidency would be someone whose morals and objectives were clear for all to see, who has the experience to accommodate an organisation financially unaudited for over a decade, who conducts himself in a way with which ordinary voters could identify and who would lead Europe into an era of freedom from the oppression of the small-minded. In the whole of Europe, there’s only one man for the job – your time has come, Silvio !
I’m beginning to feel sorry for Gordon.
I can’t believe his political antennae are so poor that he didn’t know Blair’s candidacy was dead in the water – surely he reads your blog, Jon or at least has someone read it for him. Yet still felt he had to back someone for whom he has scant respect. That, and taking back Mandelson.
Gordon really is history and unlike Milliband and even Kinnock, he won’t pick up a cushy number in Europe.
TB as president of Europe doesn’t bear thinking about. Its bad enough thinking about emigrating from the UK, because its been ruined. I’d prefer not to have to emigrate from Europe as well…
If Europe was democratic enough to let the people vote for their President (which it isn’t), it would be very tempting to vote for Burlusconi…!
Sod Blair , Gordon And Europe.It is time we stood up for Britain.If we dont disgusting parties like the BNP will gain the high ground.It is a pity the tories are afraid to admit to being British and not European and give the people of these isles a real choice not based on hatred
nut talks so much sense they should listen to him
“Gordon really is history and unlike Milliband and even Kinnock, he won’t pick up a cushy number in Europe”
But the banks will reward him! The GETTING – FATTER- by- the- MINUTE CATS will see to it.
warmongers always fail in the end
if you want to get rid of blair can you please sign my petition at http://www.gopetition.com/online31785.html thanks
very few in this country want Blair, nor want the European Union in its current form or the Federation it hopes to become.That is why we have been deprived of the vote on the new constitution.I would say that Gordon Brown with his lies at the last election that he would have a vote and his subsequent signing of the treaty is guilty of treason and should be charged as such
politicians should tell the truth even if they dont like it eg alan johnson
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