Tony Blair would make a good candidate for “President of Europe”, a new post created by the treaty approved by EU leaders at their Lisbon summit. The reasoning behind this is that the job will enable the EU to function more efficiently and to enjoy greater unity as Europe will have a face, principally that of its president, who will be elected for two and a half years.

The question remains though, whether Tony Blair will accept this position. While close allies claim that he would like to take on the job, the role of EU president could conflict with the portfolio of advisory roles Blair seems keen to take up. At this stage, the problem with the new post of ‘President of the European Council’ is that it comes third in the pecking order, behind the President of the Commission, currently Jose Manuel Barroso, and the foreign affairs supremo, likely to be Javier Solana, who already holds half the post. Do not underestimate Blair though. William Hague, amidst a performance of his typically humorous stand-up routine in the House of Commons, managed a serious analysis of the situation. “Occupied by someone with the political skill of our former prime minister, this job would become in not so many years a far more substantial one than the government now pretend; seen as the president of Europe by the rest of the world.”

French opposition was to be expected; President Chirac was often referred to as ‘the unofficial president of Europe’. Indeed, two of France’s senior statesmen have launched an “Anyone But Blair” movement in an attempt to prevent Tony from becoming the first president of the European Union next year. On February 8^th, an article appeared in The Times by Édouard Balladur, the Prime Minister of France from 1993 to 1995, describing Blair as an inappropriate candidate for the position.

Interestingly though, Blair, the former Labour Prime Minister of Euro-sceptic Britain, launched his unofficial campaign by seeking support from conservatives in Euro-enthusiastic France. As Hague put it, “When he goes off to a major political conference of a centre-right party, and simultaneously refers to himself as a socialist, he is on manoeuvres.” His name was put in the frame last month by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, who described Mr Blair as “a very remarkable man – the most European of all Britons… to think of him would be a good idea.”

Having Blair in the role would benefit Europe enormously. He was on very good terms with most European leaders, excluding Chirac and Schroder due to Iraq. There is no doubt that the biggest danger to the EU is no longer the Russians, Americans or even Chinese. It is not terrorism or expansion. It is Britain. Of course, it would be a gross overstatement to suggest that the British Conservative Party is a viable threat to Europe, but the fact is that the Tories want to “renegotiate” (meaning, ‘renounce’) Britain’s membership of the EU. To have, say, a Frenchman in the role would enflame an already growing phobia of anything European, to have Tony Blair at the centre of the EU could possibly stop (or at least alleviate) the UK’s sulking. On February 7^th, it emerged that even Gordon Brown will back Blair should he choose to run, although the awkward relationship of the two men could easily bring the sincerity of this statement into question.

In his article, Balladur argued against Blair, claiming that he fails to meet two criteria; “First, to come from a country that is completely in step with the EU’s forward march and that participates in all its different forms of co-operation; and, secondly, to be determined to build the independence of Europe, notably in the diplomatic and military fields.” He therefore implies that the UK is disjointed with Europe, a fair assessment perhaps, and in his second point refers to Blair’s association with the USA. This ‘independence’ theme appears palatable, but really evokes old-fashioned Gaullism at its worst. In Anthony Seldon’s biography of Blair, the ‘Anglo-American special relationship’ is a key theme and reports that Blair always took it upon himself to act as the ‘bridge’ between the USA and EU; admittedly not a display of ‘independence’, but surely internationalism and multilateralism is preferable to isolationism and unilateralism.

Ultimately, it is undeniable that Tony Blair is a remarkable man with great qualities, including flexibility, rapidity and a feeling for how to communicate. He is in no way disqualified for this new function because he is no longer a sitting head of government; the only question is whether he actually wants the job.