THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: And polls throughout Europe – and 38,000 petition signatories – agree. Jane Merrick reports on the gathering momentum to stop the former PM
Tony Blair's former chief adviser on the EU has misgivings about the ex-prime minister becoming President of Europe, as the campaign to overturn his bid gathers pace.
Sir Stephen Wall – one of the key architects of the post of EU president – said a high-profile figure such as Mr Blair was "not necessarily a very good idea" and cast doubt on his ability to build consensus among EU leaders. A figure from a smaller state would send a "unifying signal", he added.
The surprise intervention came amid growing signs that a President Blair would not be welcomed by ordinary citizens of Europe, despite their leaders showing support.
Research by The Independent on Sunday suggests a democratic discrepancy between voters and national leaders – who wield the votes for the new president. The findings are supported by a European-wide petition to stop Mr Blair taking the post, which comes with a string of perks. Nearly 38,000 people have signed the petition, yet he remains a favourite with bookmakers and with a growing number of EU leaders.
After the IoS asked readers' opinions last week, hundreds responded – and those saying No to Mr Blair outnumbered Yes by 20 to 1. His role in the Iraq war was the main complaint. As the process for choosing a European Council president draws to a close later this year, Mr Blair is expected to appear before the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war.
Comments from readers and petitioners suggest that Mr Blair appears to have misjudged the public anger that still exists over Iraq. Last night sources close to the former prime minister claimed he remained focused on his job as Middle East envoy and was "really enjoying his new life".
The EU president, a role created by the Lisbon Treaty, will be decided before the end of this year, with only Vaclav Klaus, the Czech president, yet to ratify the charter. Despite voters' opposition, EU leaders appear to be inching towards acclamation of Mr Blair at a meeting in Brussels in December. Yet Sir Stephen, who criticised Mr Blair over Iraq, said in an interview with the journal European Voice that the ex-PM would not be suitable if the post was designed for consensus-building in the 27-nation bloc.
Sir Stephen was the UK's permanent representative to the EU between 1995 and 2000, before working as Mr Blair's European adviser until 2004. During his time at No 10, Sir Stephen helped devise the posts of president and European foreign affairs representative.
Asked about the possibility of a high-profile figure such as Mr Blair as president, Sir Stephen said: "[That] is not necessarily a very good idea." >>> Jane Merrick | Sunday, October 18, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Tony Blair has many fine qualities. He can be a brilliant advocate; and he has a gift – although he found its limit – for finding agreement among apparently incompatible interests. His supporters also put forward other qualifications for the post of President of the European Council: he has experience of working with European institutions; as Prime Minister he sought to engage Britain more constructively in the European Union – again within limits; and, whatever the critics might say, he is well known and respected among world leaders.
However, The Independent on Sunday cannot support his undeclared candidacy for the job that is now almost certain to be created. This is not simply a matter of his decision to join the American invasion of Iraq. That was an error of judgement, and an important one. It must count against him in consideration for any leadership position. But the Iraq war also undermines Mr Blair's claim to be a unifying force. The issue itself was divisive, pitting the governments of the European Union against each other. When the choice between Britain's relationship with America and its relationship with the rest of Europe became unfudgeable, Mr Blair chose America, which speaks volumes about his instincts.
Mr Blair rode roughshod over popular opinion across Europe, and misled people at home. He used information selectively to help persuade Cabinet and Parliament of the case for military action. As we say, he was a forceful advocate, sometimes stretching the facts to the utmost in order to make his case. His lawyerly persuasiveness may be useful in presenting Europe's case to the rest of the world, but it is not necessarily the ability that makes for the best chairman of summits of European leaders. As we report today, this is the view of none other than Sir Stephen Wall. ... >>> | Sunday, October 18, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Tony Blair’s chances of becoming Europe’s first president have suffered a setback as his critics begin to build their case against him.
As more countries declare their hand on Mr Blair’s perceived suitability, a row is intensifying over exactly what job the former Prime Minister — or anybody else — will take up if and when the Lisbon treaty is ratified. Smaller countries led by Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands — the Benelux trio — want a narrow, chairman-style role for EU summits; Silvio Berlusconi and President Sarkozy believe that the president should become the grandiloquent face of Europe.
The Times, which contacted all 27 member states to gauge the strength of support for Mr Blair, found that he appears to be suffering from being the most prominent name linked to the new role, with his high profile deterring some EU members from picking him in case he ignores them and their interests.
One ally said: “Tony Blair has become both the benchmark and a target. But until he knows what the job involves he cannot make a decision about it.”
Poland is preparing to publish a paper calling for the role of president to be limited, The Times has learnt, echoing an earlier demand from the three Benelux countries, which was seen as an anti-Blair move. The Benelux countries want the new role of EU foreign minister to become the real global statesman.
In addition, this week the French President appeared to distance himself from Mr Blair when he acknowledged that several EU states wanted someone from a country that participated in the euro.
Only three EU leaders have come out publicly for Mr Blair: Mr Berlusconi, Brian Cowen of Ireland and Gordon Brown, who has said that he will support him if he decides to stand. At present Mr Blair is the international envoy to the Middle East and although his interest in the European post is widely known, it is understood that he is unlikely to want a purely Brussels-based bureaucratic job. >>> David Charter | Saturday, October 17, 2009
Stop Blair ! Petition against the nomination of Tony Blair as "President of the European Union" >>>
TIME: Here's a riddle: What unites French Socialists and British Conservatives, brings feminists together with the editors of prurient tabloid newspapers and gives shared purpose to a clutch of small European countries and more than 37,000 signatories to an online petition? Answer: Tony Blair. Across Europe, natural adversaries and strange bedfellows are finding common purpose in their efforts to stop Britain's former Prime Minister from assuming the role popularly known as president of Europe.
When Ireland and Poland ratified the Lisbon Treaty earlier this month, that left only Czech President Vaclav Klaus holding out against the document that is designed to re-engineer the European Union's institutions to better match the realities of its expanded membership. Once Klaus signs the treaty — frantic efforts are afoot to try to persuade him to do so — the E.U. can start its highest-level executive-recruitment search to date. The treaty would create two top E.U. jobs: president of the European Council and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, effectively the E.U.'s foreign minister. Blair is seen as front runner for the presidency.
You might think Blair's international cachet would be cause for British hearts to swell with pride, but some of his most bitter opponents are homegrown. Opinion polls point to an expected Conservative victory in British parliamentary elections in May 2010, and the Tories will campaign on a Euroskeptic platform that has already seen them withdraw from the main Conservative grouping in the European Parliament to cobble together an anti-federalist alternative. They dislike the idea of a high-profile, high-powered E.U. president such as Blair, who would surely increase the influence of Brussels. But many Tories also feel personal animus toward the politician whose electoral success consigned them to the wilderness for so long. "Having President Blair would put us in a state of permanent warfare if we won the election. I cannot stress how serious this is," an unnamed Tory source recently told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper. >>> Catherine Mayer, London | Wednesday, October 15, 2009
