Bertie's heartbreak as Blair in frame to become EU’s first president
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Gordon Brown's government would back Tony Blair if the former leader decided to stand for the yet-to-be-created role of president of the European Union.
Britain’s Labour government would back former prime minister Tony Blair if he were to stand for the job of president of the European Union, his successor’s spokesman said yesterday.
The new role is due to be created as part of reforms under the Lisbon Treaty.
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was once tipped as a possible contender for the position, for which the names of Jose Manuel Barroso and a couple of other European leaders have been mentioned.
The treaty, which aims to give the 27-member bloc stronger leadership, fairer decision-making and more of a say on the world stage, could be ratified later this year.
“It’s the prime minister’s view that Tony Blair would be a good candidate for any big international job,” prime minister Gordon Brown’s spokesman told reporters.
“If Tony Blair decides to stand as president of the European Council, once that job has been created, then of course we will support him.”
Mr Blair stood down as prime minister in 2007 after 10 years in power and has since taken up the role of Middle East envoy, representing the quartet of mediators made up of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.
The relationship between Mr Blair and Mr Brown, the architects of Labour’s first decade in government, was infamously rocky for much of the former’s time in charge, with both men tussling for influence over the party and the direction of policy.
Britain’s main opposition, the Conservatives, who are tipped to win an election which must be called by mid-2010, want the European Union to have less power over its member states and oppose the creation of the role of European president.
“Any holder is likely to centralise power for themselves in Brussels and dominate national foreign policies,” said Conservative foreign affairs spokesman William Hague.
“In the hands of an operator as ambitious as Tony Blair, that is a near certainty.”
But Mr Blair’s office denied he was preparing to stand for the European Council president role, which would be appointed by EU leaders on a renewable two-and-a-half year term.
