The new EU President is getting less attention in European media than the US elections.
The next President of Europe
Monday, 5 May 2008
by Jens-Peter Bonde
It is nice to see that every European newspaper and the electronic media have a big coverage of the election of a new US President almost every day. It is only sad that they cover even the selection of candidates for the American elections in every local town - and not the election of the President for Europe!
Our President will be elected by Prime Ministers meeting behind closed doors. The candidates for the job will be those who cannot be elected for offices at home.
The former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has announced his interest but has also met resistance from those who do not want to see the European President as a competitor to the Commission President.
The retiring Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has been mentioned, particularly in Irish medias, also writing about his possible involvement in corruption. I have not heard of any serious support for him in the corridors in Brussels.
The Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is now also mentioned as a
candidate in European media. The family of liberal parties representing 5 governments met recently and appointed the Finnish prime minister, Matti Vanhanen, to negotiate a liberal seat in the European executive.
Rasmussen denies publicly that he is a candidate but travels most of his time to gain support. The other day he had an official visit in his home country, Denmark, and said:
Well, he is not a candidate for the job, since it has not been created, yet, but is not the full truth. The Finnish Prime Minister tries to negotiate a post for him. He did not deny it convincingly when I met him last week.
And why should he? With five prime ministers the liberal family can count on one post if they agree internally and ally with others. There are more jobs to be distributed. The Commission president which may go to Barroso, from the EPP family - again. The foreign minister, High Representative, and vice president in the Commission which may stay with the Socialists, for Solana or eventually a newcomer as the German foreign minister Steinmeyer.
Other candidates mentioned for that job include the Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt, EPP, the French minister of agriculture and former Commissioner, Michel Barnier, EPP and maybe the favourite, the former chancellor Wolfgang Schssel of Austria who will be an ideal candidate for those who want a weak President (and a strong Commission President).
Then, there is the job of the president where the salary and number of staff, car and private flight now is being negotiated in the COREPER. This job is dependent on the ratification of the Lisbon treaty by all 27 member states including the referendum in Ireland 12 June and different court cases.
The post of secretary general in NATO is also available from 2009 when the Dutch will leave. A post as (formally deputy) secretary general in the Council after French
de Boissier and different other important posts as bank directors etc. can also be included in a final package of personalities.
Negotiations have started in the corridors. German chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Sarkozy and the weaker and weaker British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have a strong word to say. France and Germany can veto any person and maybe decide two of the posts. But they will have to find agreement with 18 other prime ministers by the end of the day.
All posts will next time be decided by super qualified majority: 20 of the 27 prime ministers. This majority can only be obtained if there is something for the 3 biggest political families, south and north, east and west, small and big. But there is no national veto as in the past where the British vetoed the Belgian prime minister Dehaene and later Verhofstaedt for the post as Commission President.
Santer and Barroso were not candidates for the jobs as Commission President. They were picked as compromise candidates in the end. The Danish Prime Minister's only chance to have a well paid job in Brussels will also be to deny his candidature and only accept one of the top jobs in the end when there may be no one else they can agree on in the final package.
Europe deserves better. All the candidates mentioned are politicians who cannot be elected for another period in their home countries. Instead of choosing between those who cannot be elected it would be more democratic to have a real European contest on the persons who shall lead us.
Why not have direct elections of all commissioners and top jobs together with the European elections foreseen for 4 - 7 June 2009? All member states could elect it's own commissioner and they could then meet and distribute the different jobs between them. To elect a European president as in the US we are still missing the joint European people.
A democratic EU will only be developed gradually if we start organising a Europe of democracies build by votes of and therefore involving the citizens.