SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Less than one year from now, the European Union will choose its first long-term president. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair appears to be the front-runner right now, but a number of senior statesment have emerged as viable candidates.
It took years for the European Union to finally agree that it should even have a president. Now, with just 12 months to go before the 27-member bloc is set to inaugurate its first full time leader, the name-game surrounding the position has begun in earnest. And so has the backbiting.
Until now, the bloc's leadership was passed around on a rotating basis, with a new country taking the helm every six months. But according to the terms of the Lisbon Treaty, signed in the Portuguese capital in December and currently in the process of being ratified across the continent, the new "President of the European Council" will hold office for a two-and-a-half year term.
Tony Blair is one prominent name that has been bandied about recently. The former British prime minister is said to have a good shot, and he has powerful friends. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has thrown his support behind Blair for reasons of both personality and politics -- and Blair even spoke French during a recent speech in France that many are describing as his campaign kick-off event.
But numerous Social Democrats and most Christian Democrats, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, aren't as impressed. On Monday, the Daily Telegraph also reported that senior allies of current Prime Minister Gordon Brown were plotting to wreck Blair's ambitions for the post out of concern that his appointment could reignite old divisions within his Labour Party. The office could also come at considerable expense to Blair, who is currently earning millions of pounds as a bank lobbyist, author and as part of the VIP speech circuit. All that would be history should he end up with the prestigious Brussels post. Name-Dropping Begins for EU's First President >>>
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