Britain's Europe Minister Glenys Kinnock has
confirmed that former Prime Minister Tony Blair will receive the full support of the British government in his candidature for European Union president. If appointed, Blair would become the first sitting president of the EU for a term of any time between 30 months and five years. Despite Britain's failure to join the euro, Blair appears to be a strong candidate for the position, with what Lady Kinnock calls the necessary "strength of character" and "status".
Also on board the President-Blair train is Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who described him as the "ideal personality" to be EU president. And, though he may now be looking elsewhere, French President Nicolas Sarkozy had at one time been a key proponent of both the creation of the presidency and Blair's bid in particular, saying:
He is intelligent, he is brave and he is a friend. We need him in Europe. How can we govern a continent of 450 million people if the president changes every six months and has to run his own country at the same time?
In past, British ministers have said that announcing a potential candidate is premature to the creation of the position itself. Unsurprisingly, it still is. The post of EU president is dependent on an October 2 referendum in Ireland on the Lisbon Treaty. 26 out of 27 EU member states have already approved ratification of the treaty, but Irish voters rejected it 53.4 to 46.6 percent in June 2008.
Blair is careful not to get ahead of himself. A spokesman for the current Middle East envoy later responded:
As we have said, time and again on this, there is nothing to be a candidate for since the job doesn't actually exist.
Gerard Cerles/AFP/Getty images
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