BLUFF

The FT editorial today is a very poor attempt at a bluff. For weeks, if not months, even though the Lisbon Treaty has not yet been fully ratified, Tony Blair has been proposed as President of Europe in the British media.

The FT says that it believes that Tony Blair is not the man for the job. Iraq is primarily the reason why, they say, and a pandering to the Eurosceptic media at crucial times.

Yet the FT does not propose anyone else, and in fact promotes Blair.

It is far from clear EU leaders, in their vanity, would allow themselves to be eclipsed by that kind of star. They may well prefer someone who patiently attends to the (27) agenda(s) and works to build the sort of messy consensus that keeps the union staggering forward. The impenetrable Lisbon treaty is verbose on this but uncharacteristically brief on the role of representation.

But, if it is global recognition the EU wants, Mr Blair can certainly oblige. In his decade at the top of British and international politics, he was, indeed, a star, albeit in a rather dim firmament. It is a seductive argument that with his mix of access and charm, and his I’m-a-straight-sort-of-guy way of doing business, he would enable the EU to, at last, punch its weight on the international stage.

Europe does need a more persuasive voice, otherwise it risks fading into geopolitical irrelevance in a world parcelled up between a G2 of the US and China. And, even though the other big job of foreign policy chief created by the Lisbon treaty could turn out to be more important, it is far from obvious there are good alternatives to Mr Blair as president of the Council.

[source : Blair is the wrong man for EU job, FT 29/10/2009]

Forget this. They want Blair. Read The Times today. Read the British media from the last month. Only one man has been proposed for President of Europe, and that man is Tony Blair.

He has proven himself to them at Bilderberg.
He has proven himself to them over Afghanistan, and Iraq and the privatisation of its oil.
He has proven himself to them over the financial crisis by allowing it occur.
He has proven himself to them by working for JP Morgan Chase, the bank that has benefitted most from the financial crisis.
He has proven himself to them over Palestine.

They want Blair.