By Martin Banks - 12th October 2009
I am sure he wants the job but there are other outstanding candidates who should be considered”
Richard Howitt
Some of the most virulent opposition to Tony Blair getting the new top job in the EU, the council presidency, is coming from the ranks of his own Socialists – and not just in Britain, but all over Europe.
The latest politician to seemingly cast doubt on Blair is former Danish PM Poul Nyrup Rasmussen who has refused to endorse a possible Blair presidency.
When asked by this website on Monday if he supported Blair getting the job, Rasmussen, president of the Party of European Socialists, remained non-committal.
Ther former MEP, who was speaking in Brussels at a conference on the financial sector, said, "It is far too early to say whether you support one person or another. A lot of names have been mentioned and many of them are well qualified."
Richard Howitt, a senior British Labour MEP, is another who appears somewhat less than enthusiastic about the increasingly likely prospect of Blair landing the post of president of the European council, effectively the "face" of the EU.
The job, which has a two and a half year term, will be created by the Lisbon treaty which appears likely to come into effect by 1 January at the latest.
Howitt told this website, “Some say Blair is the only credible candidate but I don't see it that way at all. I am sure he wants the job but there are other outstanding candidates who should be considered”
Even Martin Schulz, the leader of the Socialist group in the European parliament, has refused to give his give his support to a Blair presidency.
Though Blair could be effectively appointed as early as 29 October when EU leaders meet in Brussels for a key summit, Schulz said it is “too early” to discuss the issue, describing speculation about Blair getting the plum job as “wild rumours, without any substance.”
Leading French Socialist MEP Pervenche Berès, who chairs the parliament's employment and social affairs committee, is even more anti-Blair, telling this website, “A lot of Socialists have not forgotten Blair for his wholehearted support for the US-led war in Iraq. He does not represent the views of real Socialists and there is no way he should be considered.”
Yet more opposition comes from highly-regarded ex-Spanish MEP Enrique Barón Crespo, a former president of the European parliament, who believes the post should not to go Blair but to a woman, such as Ireland's Mary Robinson.
Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the joint leader of the Greens in parliament, agrees, saying, "There is no way Blair should get this job. He did nothing to defend European interests when he was PM and has done even less as a Middle East envoy."
Their comments come amid fevered speculation in the British press about the prospect of a Blair presidency.
The Independent newspaper ran a story about the former Labour leader at the weekend, headlined, "Could you stomach Blair becoming EU president?" while the Times says he is the man "Europe does not want."
The Guardian, though, predicts that "barring unforeseen accidents" he will get the job.
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