I would suggest that the Foreign policy job will go to a major player from a bigger country at the heart of the EU project - thus ruling out Miliban - and probably to a conservtive/centre right person.

This means that the Presidency job could go to a Europhile, anglo-phone, smaller country, leftist, women who does a good job of projecting popular legitimacy and engagement to a broad cross-section of the political spectrum.

I still think that it is far more likely to go to an ex-Prime Minister, but also that Mary Robinson is not quite the long-odds outsider one might expect but the basis of current political "realities".

notes from no w here

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

'Sapere aude'

Sarkozy seems to be a key player here.  Anybody got any idea what he will do next?

Still, my gut feeling is that Sarkozy just cannot accept to cede the European front scene to a charismatic person like Blair -- an obscure nobody from a small country would suit him admirably.

And Prince Jean has nothing to do with this: he was needed at the EPAD chair to keep a "safe" hand on the financial spigot: La Défense and the whole area West of Paris is the UMP's "Green Zone".