Blair and the US eye up European presidential spot

THE Allies and the Axis will gather in the German capital today to symbolically re-stage the fall of the Berlin Wall. The event20 years ago today was the beginning of the final chapter of the Second World War.

As the old foes and friends stand in the Pariser Platz another chapter will open in the history of Europe. For, almost certainly, the first president of the European Council and the EU’s first foreign minister will be earmarked as the next, and possibly final phase, of the European Union takes off.

The subject is not, of course, on the agenda for what is to be a convivial evening with a concert and dinner for the leaders of the 27 member states but, with time ticking by so quickly, it is expected to be the main topic of their conversation on the sidelines.

The chat, no doubt, will not be hindered by the presence of the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. This is a subject of great interest to the Americans who, in many ways, take the union more seriously than the Europeans do.

Naturally they pay close attention to developments like the selection of a EU president – as he will be known – and have their favourites for the role. From the indications, they would prefer Tony Blair to get the post, as his policies in the past have been much closer to those of the US than any other European leader.

Normally they are quite active in pursuing what they want and this time is no different. One of those making a case for the former British prime minister is former US president Bill Clinton. Recently the US magazine Newsweek said: “Like his mentor Bill Clinton, Mr Blair is poised to become the comeback kid of his generation.”

Clinton is a reasonably regular visitor to Europe and just last week he presided over a ceremony where the Kosovars unveiled a massive gold-splattered statue of him complete with the NATO order to bomb neighbouring Serbia.

He had a number of speaking engagements around the continent and took the time to promote support for Blair, especially among some of the central and eastern European members of the EU.

Their terms of office coincided for three years during which they got on well, though then Blair fell into step remarkably easily with the neo-con Bush administration.

Since leaving Downing Street, Blair has emulated Clinton’s post-power business structures including tax efficient foundations and espousing a number of deserving causes.

It will be interesting to see if German Chancellor Angela Merkel will succumb to the advice of such powerful advocates as Clinton and change her mind about Blair. If she does, French President Nicholas Sarkozy is almost certain to follow her.

The EU leaders have chosen to define the EU president’s role as that of a chairperson for their three-monthly summits who would draw up the agenda and ensure the meetings’ decisions are carried through.

This has been read as meaning they do not want a show-stopper to draw attention to the EU on the world stage. In fact, whoever is in charge of drawing up the agenda and following through its results is in a very powerful position if they wish to pursue specific issues.

The Americans and Blair recognise this. Now it’s a matter of whether the EU leaders really do want to be managed to the extent they would be by a man known for his presidential style. And how close they want to be to the US.