If the Lisbon treaty enters into force, which seems likely, the European Union will appoint a president to chair the European Council, which brings together the heads of government. The president will lack formal powers. His or her influence will depend on their force of personality, powers of persuasion and contact book. On those criteria Tony Blair, UK prime minister from 1997 to 2007, scores well. Many EU governments are backing him.
Other names have been mooted, such as Felipe González and Paavo Lipponen (former prime ministers of Spain and Finland), as well as Jan Peter Balkenende, Jean-Claude Juncker and Herman Van Rompuy (current leaders of the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium, respectively). Except for Mr González, they lack Mr Blair’s international standing, but the Spaniard is handicapped by his lack of fluent English and the recent reappointment of another Iberian, José Manuel Barroso, as president of the European Commission.
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