Former British prime minister Tony Blair would be a good choice as the European Union’s first full-time president, French and British leaders said on Friday while stressing that the job is not yet on offer.
Blair’s successor, Gordon Brown, praised Blair’s current role as international Middle East envoy, and said he would be a strong candidate for any similar high-profile role, including the new EU job.
“Tony Blair would be a great candidate for any significant international job,” said Brown, who had famously stormy relations with his long-term ally turned bitter foe.
“The work that he is doing in the Middle East is something that is of huge international importance,” he added.
But he stressed that it was too early to speculate on who could fill the new post, which under a new EU treaty would hold the EU reins for two-and-a-half years, replacing the current unwieldy six-month rotating presidency.
“There has been no discussion of this,” he said, calling it “premature” until the new EU treaty has been ratified by all 27 member states, a process likely to take most of next year.
“There will be no discussion of names of individuals until that process is finished,” he added, the morning after EU leaders agreed the new treaty to replace the bloc’s aborted constitution.
French President Sarkozy echoed the comments, although he added that Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker would also make a good candidate, having been one of Europe’s longest-serving national leaders.
“I saw Tony Blair two nights ago. He is a very remarkable man. He is the most European of Britons … it would be intelligent to think of him,” he told reporters.
But he also praised Juncker, a classic EU “federalist” in contrast to Blair’s support for the primacy of nation states. “It is an intelligent idea, that he could be the first president,” he said.
“But France is not taking a position now. It is premature.”
It is not the first time that Blair, who stepped down in June after 10 years in office, has been mentioned in connection with the EU job. But a spokesperson for the former premier rebuffed speculation.
“Tony Blair’s focus is on his role in the Middle East. That is what he is thinking about and spending his time on,” he said. — AFP