Food For Thought: Gordon Brown as the EU's First Full-Time President? José Manuel Barroso is all but certain to be reappointed as European Commission president. But who will get the other plum European Union jobs that will soon be up for grabs? The most startling suggestion I have heard in recent days - and it came from a high-ranking EU diplomat - is that the EU's first ever full-time president could be none other than Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the UK. The thinking here is that, because the job will require its holder to represent the EU on the world stage, it would suit Brown well. He has oodles of experience and excellent connections at the highest level, starting with President Barack Obama. (...) ony Blair's name has been mentioned numerous times in connection with the EU presidency job. But there has always been the nagging feeling in Brussels that his candidacy would be blocked by a country nursing a grudge against him (such as Belgium). At the same time, quite a few policymakers recognise that the scale of the security and economic challenges facing the EU is such that the first president needs to be a person of true international stature. Angela Merkel or Nicolas Sarkozy, the German chancellor and French president, would fit the bill, but neither is remotely interested. It would be nice to think of an Italian in the job, but something tells me that the EU isn't about to entrust its fate to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. That leaves the UK - and the clergyman's son from Glasgow.
José Manuel Barroso is all but certain to be reappointed as European Commission president. But who will get the other plum European Union jobs that will soon be up for grabs?
The most startling suggestion I have heard in recent days - and it came from a high-ranking EU diplomat - is that the EU's first ever full-time president could be none other than Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the UK. The thinking here is that, because the job will require its holder to represent the EU on the world stage, it would suit Brown well. He has oodles of experience and excellent connections at the highest level, starting with President Barack Obama.
(...)
ony Blair's name has been mentioned numerous times in connection with the EU presidency job. But there has always been the nagging feeling in Brussels that his candidacy would be blocked by a country nursing a grudge against him (such as Belgium). At the same time, quite a few policymakers recognise that the scale of the security and economic challenges facing the EU is such that the first president needs to be a person of true international stature.
Angela Merkel or Nicolas Sarkozy, the German chancellor and French president, would fit the bill, but neither is remotely interested. It would be nice to think of an Italian in the job, but something tells me that the EU isn't about to entrust its fate to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. That leaves the UK - and the clergyman's son from Glasgow.
The UK media sure seem keen to have a British Preident for Europe. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
