El País is reporting a growing consensus that the President of the Council will be EPP and the High Representative will be a Socialist (succeeding the Spanish Socialist Javier Solana). Ramón Jáuregui, the European Socialist spokesman for constitutional affairs, is quoted as saying, ‘We are reaching an agreement that Blair is not a representative of the Socialist family.’
The list that the Socialists are working on, according to EP, is Frank-Walter Steinmeier, former German Foreign Minister; David Miliband, British Foreign Minister; Elisabeth Guido, former French minister of Employment and Solidarity ; Alfred Gusenbauer, former Austrian Chancellor and Adrián Severin, former Rumanian Foreign Minister. There is not complete consensus because Brown is still insisting on proposing his new best friend Blair as President.
Meanwhile in Paris, Merkel and Sarkozy are plotting for President. Merkel flew there yesterday immediately after her formal re-election in the Bundestag and cancelling the speech she was due to make there. Of course, they have rather more on their plates than just this matter. Their meeting is attended by José Manuel Durão Barroso and the prime ministers of France, François Fillon; Holland, Jean Peter Balkenende; Luxembourg, Jean Claude Juncker; Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy; and Sweden, Fredrik Reinfeldt.
According to EP, even with Juncker declared Balkenende is still well placed. It also says that Felipe González is a possibility but has the disadvantage that Barroso is also Iberian. I think he has more disadvantages than that, but well, we will see.
As always, Timothy Garton Ash is worth reading in the Guardian.
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