There is something fishy about the race to fill two of the biggest jobs going in Europe - the first long-term presidency of the European Union, and the post of EU foreign policy chief. The closer the EU gets to decision time, the more various unofficial candidates are ruling themselves out or running into difficulties. As far as concerns the presidency, the latest person to say she doesn't want to be considered for the job is Mary Robinson, the former Irish head of state. In some ways, it's a shame. The politically independent Robinson commands much respect across Europe and beyond - more than certain candidates I could mention from Belgium and Luxembourg. It would also be a clever move on the part of the EU's 27 leaders to put a woman in the presidency and so boost the EU's profile in the eyes of its citizens.
In some ways, it's a shame. The politically independent Robinson commands much respect across Europe and beyond - more than certain candidates I could mention from Belgium and Luxembourg. It would also be a clever move on the part of the EU's 27 leaders to put a woman in the presidency and so boost the EU's profile in the eyes of its citizens.
more than certain candidates I could mention from Belgium and Luxembourg.
The British establishment continues to look down on the BeNeLux. At this point, I shall note that such propaganda won't result in mnore than heads shaked in disbelief from Eurozone PMs, who know at least Juncker as the Euro group head... *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
However, seeing as we only have one vote out of 27, who on earth is he trying to convince with this nationalist idiocy ? keep to the Fen Causeway
Blair is an expert at the kind of behind-the-scenes battling that got London the Olympics, for example. It's the one who fights hardest and nastiest in the final stages who wins. The media barrage may only be in Britain (though it will probably start to get through to other countries' media), but it's there to do the softening-up. It always was, and still is, about creating an aura of inevitability around the "only candidate".
See Jake S's Blair Scorecard for the voting weights within the European Council.
