Spain 27 (Mig's analysis [citation needed]
The diary News From The Front... Or The Back quotes Brussels insider blogger Quatremer saying
The Iraq war, a bloody stain on his CV, will in no way be an obstacle: "only public opinion is still sensitive to this question, not his electors who are the 27 heads of state and government", the diplomat goes on. "The only one who could stand in the way is Jose-Luis Zapatero", the Spanish PM. But it's hard to see how he could lead a crusade against a socialist former premier when he has just supported the re-election as head of the Commission of a conservative former PM who was just as favourable to the Iraq war, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso...
Zapatero definitely doesn't want a diva like Blair to overshadow the Spanish EU presidency in the first quarter of 2010. Let's not forget that the "Council President" does not replace the rotating presidency, it just gives the council a visible head and some "continuity". Currently, most of the functions of the new "Council President" are carried out by the Secretary General of the Council who has been Javier Solana for many years, consurrently with him holding the position of High Commissioner for the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
it's hard to see how he could lead a crusade against a socialist former premier when he has just supported the re-election as head of the Commission of a conservative former PM who was just as favourable to the Iraq war, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso
I must say I found this fairly empty spin when I read it in Quatremer's blog. If Zapatero is not favourable to Blair, he won't be openly basing it on Iraq, that's all. He could simply take the "small presidency" side, for instance. (Insofar as these elements enter into consideration among the heads of government in the European Council...)
