Silvio Berlusconi, seemingly oblivious to the possibility that his support might be counterproductive, has enthusiastically backed Tony Blair for first president of Europe.

In a crisp, six-line letter to the right-leaning newspaper Il Foglio, the Italian Prime Minister has delivered what could be deemed the political kiss of death, saying the former British prime minister has ''all the right credentials in his hands'' to take on the position.

This should occur, he wrote, as soon as it is legally and politically possible to ensure that a ''great political legacy made with courage, balance and prudence without uncertainty'' is not lost and is used to help the renewal of the governance of the European Union.

Il Foglio, based in Milan and part-owned by Mr Berlusconi's estranged wife, Veronica Lario, also reported that he had phoned Jose Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission, to make clear his support for his old friend and ally.

While jockeying for the new position of President of the European Council has primarily occurred behind closed doors - and Mr Blair has yet to declare his hand formally - he now appears to have emerged as the favoured candidate after Ireland's ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/is-this-the-kiss-of-death-for-blair-as-grand-poohbah-of-europe-20091015-gz9g.html

The former prime minister Tony Blair is prepared to give up his massive annual earnings - estimated to be somewhere between £6m and £10m - to take on the role of EU President, but only if the job is a substantial one, making the most of his clout on the world stage, according to a report in the Times.

Friends of the former PM have told the paper that he wants to "make a difference" and not just act as the permanent chairman of the EU Council of Ministers, which is all some European leaders expect of him.

Blair will therefore be a "highly interested spectator" when European leaders meet today for a two-day summit in Brussels, the same sources told the paper.

However, though the presidency will be high on the agenda in Brussels, hopes that the Lisbon Treaty could finally be signed off this week were dashed when the Czech Republic - the last country to ratify the treaty - delayed an important decision that is keeping the whole of Europe on tenterhooks.

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/55345,news-comment,news-politics,tony-blair-wants-eu-presidency-only-if-its-a-proper-job?DCMP=NLC-daily

Earlier this week, Tony Blair was laying down the terms under which he would accept the EU presidency - or least his friends were on his behalf: it had to be a "proper job", worthy of his immense international stature. Today, he's looking like the least popular man in Europe, with his chances of becoming the first president approaching zero.

As The First Post reported yesterday, the word from Elysee palace sources following a meeting between President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel on Wednesday was that they were looking for an alternative. They and other centre right leaders want one of their own to be president.

By Thursday, as EU leaders gathered in Brussels, it became clear the anti-Blair feeling was spreading. Despite an appeal by Gordon Brown to "get real" about Blair's merits, there is lingering suspicion over his friendship with George Bush and support for the Iraq war, and a general sentiment that the former British prime minister is too big for his boots.

Most leaders want a "chairman not a chief" to take the presidency under the terms of the Lisbon treaty and the point made by David Miliband last weekend that Blair would stop the traffic when his motorcade hit town has clearly backfired.

As Matti Vanhanen, the Finnish Prime Minister, said: "The role of the permanent president - he or she is really the chairman of the European Council, not the President of Europe. The job is to prepare items for the European Council."

Or as German sources put it, Angela Merkel did not relish the idea of having to listen to "Mr Flash".

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/55405,news-comment,news-politics,eu-presidency-why-tony-blair-hopes-are-fading-fast?DCMP=NLC-daily

Gordon brown urged European Socialist leaders last week to appoint Tony Blair as the European President. "Get real", he told them, "This is a unique opportunity to get a strong progressive politician to be the president."

Brown is obviously correct, nothing could be more refreshing, innovative 'real' and 'progressive' than assigning the job to a man who has more blood on his hands than any other person in Europe. It may also be right to argue that there is just one living person on this planet with more blood on his hands than Blair. That man dwells in Texas, his name is George and actually unlike our Bonaparte figure, he keeps relatively quiet. Unlike George, our Boney is craving for recognition. He cannot live without a crown or an official title. Someone should remind Boney that he already made it into history, he can really take a break. With more than one million fatalities in Iraq, he is not far behind Hitler and Stalin.

Murderers are, no doubt, a unique bunch of people, some criminologists  insists that they are no less than psychopaths for psychopaths are people who  disregard ethical principles. Psychopaths also lack any sense of conscience or compassion. Mass murderers are even more special, for they manage to evade, not just a couple of eyes, but rather very many. They even mange to turn deaf to public criticism and resentment towards their acts. Our Boney, is extraordinary by every possible means. Not only does he dismiss the pain he brought on millions, not only did he fail to show regret, he actually constantly demands our recognition of his imaginary greatness. He seems to lack any awareness or self-consciousness whatsoever.

Blair was sure that he had the presidency 'in his pocket'. He was wrong, it is now rather clear that European leaders have woken up.  The horrifying dream may be over. I guess that the idea they would have to stop the traffic in their Capitals just to let the convoy of a vile war criminal pass through was too much for them to cope with.

Blair as a European president could be a total farce, almost as sickening as him being 'Peace Envoy'. I assume that all we have to do now is to pursue immediately the necessary action that would lead this criminal to face justice and to bear the consequences of his illegal war.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23870.htm

They feared it might take days but in the end it was a snap, unanimous, decision when Europe's 27 leaders dumped charisma for consensus and elected the low-key Belgian Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, as the first president of the European Union.

The vote, taken at a special meeting in Brussels on Thursday night, delivered a compromise team, with Mr Van Rompuy at the helm and the EU's Trade Commissioner, Catherine Ashton, a Briton, as foreign minister.

''It's not a glamour team,'' an EU diplomat told the BBC.

The deal is seen as a low-risk strategy by its architects - as well as its critics - and represents a clear win for those who argued the need for a ''chairman'' over a high-profile, symbolic figurehead, such as the former British prime minister Tony Blair.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/europeans-settle-for-efficiency-over-ego-20091120-iqui.html