- NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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European Idol
Handicapping the race for EU president.
BY ANNIE LOWREY | OCTOBER 9, 2009
It's been a big few weeks for foreign-policy wonks with a betting streak, with the awarding of the 2016 Olympics and Nobel Prizes as well as Ireland's ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. Although some hurdles remain, the referendum has made the creation of a president of the European Union much more likely -- spurring some serious transatlantic speculation over who would fit the bill.
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Normally, the politicking over which continental political heavyweight might grab an EU post is minimal. The roles tend to be bureaucratic and, put frankly, Brussels tends to be a pretty dull place. But the novelty and the relatively undefined nature of the beefed-up EU presidency has given the race some intrigue.
As certain politicians have emerged as speculative front-runners, an informal set of criteria has emerged as well. European leaders and Brussels-watchers handicapping the race often comment on the characteristics they deem desirable in an EU president.
First, the president should be, well, boring -- like Brussels itself. Politicians have knocked down candidates for being too controversial or too outspoken. Second, he should likely hold center-right or Christian Democratic political tendencies, given that Europe itself is headed that direction. Third, he should come from a country that uses the euro -- showing full fealty to the concept of the union. Fourth, he should come from a small European country -- anything other than Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, which normally dominate the union's affairs. Finally, two wild-card characteristics: He should ideally speak French and have opposed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq -- if not at the time, then soon afterward.
Above, I've judged the most-often mentioned candidates on these parameters. And below, I'll discuss the top contenders in more detail.
Annie Lowrey is an assistant editor at Foreign Policy.
It might not be in the interests of the U.S, but personally I just hope that whoever might chosen is a strong leader that can advance a European position.
Nice article. Hope Balkenende gets the office. Here in the Netherlands we are tired of his long presidency.
There is a contradiction in the article. In the table Paavonen is not designated as a French speaker, in the text he is mentioned as such.
I think Tony Blair was a good prime minister (if you leave Iraq out of it) and think he should be made president of Europe
Mary Robinson would be an excellent president of the Council!
Just noting that there is no mention here of Mary Robinson as a candidate. She has an impressive CV and track record, and would make an excellent President....
After hugely successful terms of office in both the positions of President of Ireland and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson has proven that she would make an excellent President of the European Council.
Mrs Robinson is currently chair of the GAVI Alliance (until 2010); in 2004 she received Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award for her work in promoting human rights and her latest project is Realizing Rights: the Ethical Globalization Initiative.
In August 2009 Mary Robinson was chosen by President Barack Obama to be one of this year’s recipients for the US Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honour.
So, Germany and UK are BIG countries, and
Spain and Finland are SMALL? ;-) And our Polish president, Mr Kwasniewski , "speaks French ideally" ?
Annie, you're the best ;-) You know, we got arctic bears in Poland, have you heard? Ehhh.
Lol Tony Blair speaks French?
no wonder i could not understand him lol is Bush the same?
Made me smile but for me, tony blaire was a good prime minister, why not be the president of europe..?
Made me smile but for me, tony blaire was a good prime minister, why not be the president of europe..?
Recall as well that Blair has recently converted to Catholicism and expressed his deeply felt Christian motivations in politics: this aligns him more to the Christian Democratic side of European politics more than a lot might think. As well, whilst Prime Minister he was strongly pro-European in the face of a general sense of British public Euro-skepticism. Finally, his Labour party was fairly fiscally conservative, even though they remained socially... socialist. So he is perhaps not as bad a fit as this makes out.
To add to other comments, I'm a bit puzzled Aznar is mentioned as an anti-war (he was, after all, at the Azores summit on March 2003, wasn't he?).
Just a few comments to enhance the picture of Mr Lipponen:
He is an exceptionally cultured person, which is not that common in the corridors of politics. He is a genuine European and takes a positive attitude towards NATO. However, as Prime Minister of Finland at the time, he only agreed to take part in the reconstruction of Iraq – not any attack or war. He is fluent in English, German, Swedish and of course Finnish. Nor does Norwegian and Danish creates any problems for him, but his French could do with some improvement. On the political right-left-scale many Finns regards him rather right. One reason being that he led the Government that brought the Finnish economy back on its feet, after the country’s worst recession ever, in the later part of the nineties. Needless to say he was forced to take rather unorthodox measures, at least seen from a social democratic point of view.
Thomas R
Brussels is boring above all for those who do not understand it
Brussels is boring above all for those who do not understand what's happening there. As it seems to be the case for the author of this article.
Nobody talks about Merkel, Aznar or Kwasniewski for the job. Except this artice. Why not Jacques Chirac or Margaret Thatcher while you're at it ? I mean, Merkel would be the best candidate, but Chancellor of Germany remains a more attractive position (because way more powerful).
Ahern, Rasmussen, Schussel are ranking low.
However, you forgot those (much more likely): Verhofstadt, Robinson, Van Rompuy.
Thank you for mentioning EU politics in FP columns. But please try to account for it more accurately (instead of dropping dubious cliché).
D.
P.S: Liponen’s main weakness is its implication in Gazprom’s North Stream Project, which infuriates Poland and the Baltic countries
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