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    The EU FFS

    President Blair.

    Having left the crowd wanting more, I suppose it's a natural enough ambition on his part. He's got less self-awareness than Duncan Fletcher.

    A few bizarre newspaper columns along the lines of yeah-I-know-about-Iraq-but-he's-a-heavyweight. Presumably there's no one around with a bit of gravitas who hasn't launched 2 disastrous wars. Wouldn't this historic position not be worth someone resigning from a senior place in national government to take on?

    And of all the policy failures he had (on his own terms, let alone anyone else's) EU policy was the most striking. No single currency for Britain and lots of pissing off other members. It's amazing to recall he once won something called the Charlemagne Prize for being a good European.

    And worst of all, we'll get tons of "Blair/Brown" crap. That's what's really important in politics.

    Grim times.

    #2
    The EU FFS

    I may have been a bit generous on the wars there.

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      #3
      The EU FFS

      A number of us have noted this before, but the whole "Tony is a sure thing" meme appears to be entirely a creation of the British media (and one can guess where they are getting the idea from).

      Virtually all Continental sources are just as sure that they will never pick someone from a "big" country (with Dutch prime minister Balkenende often said to be the favourite).

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        #4
        The EU FFS

        I feel your pain, Tubbs. We all do. And yeah, Jackie Ashley's piece on the subject in today's Guardian was imbecilic in the extreme. What sparkling and impassioned banter she and Andrew Marr must exchange over the breakfast table. Choppy waters in the teapot.

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          #5
          The EU FFS

          She can be quite good, sometimes, can't she? I suppose the EU's democratic weaknesses makes people think in a certain "armchair diplomat" kind of way.

          That doesn't surprise me at all, Ursus. I suppose Rupert Murdoch doesn't own as many papers abroad. He'd love Blair to get it, I presume.

          David Milliband has come out with something I can't fathom at all. Apparently Blair won't say he's intersted in the job because he doesn't know what it is yet. If it's something that needs coalition building and strategy then he'll be interested. Those are just the two skills one would associate with him.

          Another Guardian article reckons he's being low key- ie only telling national newspapers- because there's some big problem with being the "frontrunner" (a word that implies some sort of agreed course) because people find a reason to veto you. What a healthy democratic situation this is where one aspires to sneak under the radar into post.

          Still, it would be great for him (if he got that far) to be vetoed. He vetoed a Belgian in 2004 for Commissioner who I presume The Mail had called a "federalist".

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            #6
            The EU FFS

            And worst of all, we'll get tons of "Blair/Brown" crap. That's what's really important in politics.
            Not for long we won't.

            I remember back in 2000 having a row with my then girlfriend about Blair wanting to be EU President. I'm half tempted to get back in touch and give it 'Yeah, fucking told ya so'. But then I think, hmmm been drinking that night and...

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              #7
              The EU FFS

              Why does the EU even need a president? There's more than a whiff of 19th-century power block thinking ("we've got to have someone to compete in cock-waving contests with the Chinese and Americans") about all this. You know, I reckon Europe could muddle through without a pres.

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                #8
                The EU FFS

                I refer you to David Milliband again. It needs a president because it needs someone who can "stop the traffic" when going abroad. I thought first of the video for Where The Streets Have No Name, but apparently this means Tony Blair.

                The traffic stopping probably refers to the ludicrous security he'll insist on. Fuck, he needed a glass screen in the House of Commons. You'd think the hundreds of security men there had got the Uzi situation covered.

                I'd rather an elected president than a rotating one. You get people like Tony Blair in the latter case.

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                  #9
                  The EU FFS

                  Well to me the danger is that its more of a precident in that long serving PM's or Presidents of, well face it UK / Germany and France (maybe Spain, no way Italy) can keep their fingers in the pie long after their electorates have tired of them.

                  Not sure what the powers come with the role. But then the papers at the weekend wern't.

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                    #10
                    The EU FFS

                    Yeah that "stop the traffic" remark was very telling of Miliband's pathetic, small-minded and unctuous world view. If we want someone who can stop the traffic, get a film star in.

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                      #11
                      The EU FFS

                      There already is an "EU President".

                      All that the Treaty of Lisbon does is make this particular office (not to be confused with the Presidency of the Council of the EU, which is held by each member state in six month-rotations) subject to election (by qualified majority within the EU Council) for a term of two and half years, rather than rotating together with the larger "Presidency".

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                        #12
                        The EU FFS

                        E10 Rifle wrote:
                        If we want someone who can stop the traffic, get a film star in.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          The EU FFS

                          George Monbiot has a cunning plan:

                          http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/26/making-blair-eu-president-crazy

                          Comment


                            #14
                            The EU FFS

                            E10 Rifle wrote:
                            cock-waving contests with the Chinese and Americans
                            Must confess I've missed these. How do they decide on a winner?

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                              #15
                              The EU FFS

                              I think this powerblock idea is worth exploring.

                              I've given it no thought beyond it's a good idea to be in one, seeing they'll exist, and you might as well have a president.

                              Thoughts?

                              Comment


                                #16
                                The EU FFS

                                No, I think it would be much better to remain as an unco-ordinated collection of 27 individual states each too insignificant to have any influence on global affairs. It's soooo 19th century to want to club together for power and influence.

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                                  #17
                                  The EU FFS

                                  Jean Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg PM enters the fray - he'd be an excellent President, a polyglot, loads of EU experience...

                                  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e6f33c6e-c2eb-11de-8eca-00144feab49a.html

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    The EU FFS

                                    surely all that time spent tossing george bush's salad means that blair has about as much chance of getting this job as declan ganley.

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                                      #19
                                      The EU FFS

                                      That's not why, though it doesn't help.

                                      But yeah, there's very little chance of this happening. The Irish and UK governments are about the only ones who are much in favour, and neither is exactly flavour of the month in EU circles.

                                      I'd put his chances a little above Silvio's.

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