Blair Drops Out Of EU Presidential Race

[Sionnach Glic]

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has dropped out of the race to be European Council President - just as EU leaders meet to decide who to appoint.

The Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy is widely expected to get the job, with French and German support.

The socialist group of EU leaders is now urging the appointment of EU Trade Commissioner Baroness Catherine Ashton as the new foreign policy supremo.

A UK government spokesman revealed the dramatic twist in the British position.

EU leaders are in Brussels to select their first full-time president and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs - new posts created by the Lisbon Treaty, which will come into force on 1 December.

The heads of the 27 EU member nations are still divided over which candidates to choose, and after-dinner negotiations are expected to last into the night.

Mr Blair had been an early favourite for president and was the highest-profile candidate.

BBC

[Tyyr]

The heads of the 27 EU member nations are still divided over which candidates to choose, and after-dinner negotiations are expected to last into the night.

I don't suppose letting the serfs vote was ever considered?

[Sionnach Glic]

Let the people vote on who represents them? What a preposterous notion!

[Monroe]

I'm surprised the EU country's citizens aren't caring more about having a voice in super nationalism.

[Mikey]

The EU has never been really known for caring about what the actual citizenry wants.

And I'm surprised that Emperor Sarkozy I hasn't locked himself in a panic room with all the keys yet.

[Sonic Glitch]

Let the people vote on who represents them? What a preposterous notion!

I seem to remember some sort of "virtual representation" claim by a great Empire way-back-when, could the EU be trying the same thing? Such as "by virtue of being your countries representative, they vote on the council president"?

[Aaron]

I thought Blair was the Rep to the Middle East guy for the UN now though?

[Sionnach Glic]

I thought Blair was the Rep to the Middle East guy for the UN now though?

If that's true, then that's one of the funniest things I've heard all week.

[Aaron]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Blair#Diplomacy

Diplomacy

On 27 June 2007, Blair officially resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after ten years in office, and he was officially confirmed as Middle East envoy for the United Nations, European Union, United States, and Russia.[61] Blair originally indicated that he would retain his parliamentary seat after his resignation as Prime Minister came into effect; however, he resigned from the Commons on being confirmed for the Middle East role by taking up an office for profit.[57] President George W. Bush had preliminary talks with Blair to ask him to take up the envoy role. White House sources stated that "both Israel and the Palestinians had signed up to the proposal".[62][63] In May 2008, Tony Blair announced a new plan for peace and for Palestinian rights, based heavily on the ideas of the Peace Valley plan.[64]

During the first nine days of the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza conflict, Tony Blair spent Christmas and New Year's with his family and according to the Daily Mail he was spotted at the opening of the Armani store at Knightsbridge. Aides insisted that reports of him being on holiday were 'totally untrue'. He has, they said, been 'working tirelessly' behind the scenes 'since day one'. Since taking on the position of Middle East envoy, he is reported to be spending one week out every month in the Middle East. His spokesman was quoted as stating that, Blair had been 'working the phones' constantly since Israel's ferocious bombardment of the Palastinian coastal enclave began.[65]

Man I can't think of to many things more insulting to the ME then to have a former Bush ally and a Roman Catholic as an envoy. Good thing he isn't a Jew.

[sunnyside]

Considering how much people are concerned about national identity you'd think they wouldn't want these positions to be the sort of things everyone votes on. That's a very "United States of Europe" sort of thing, and would imply more politcal captial and importance for them.

Instead the intent seems to be, at the moment, to try and cast them as being closer to comittee members or diplomats.

And as I understand it their roles aren't that well defined and their "powers" are debatable.
The president sounds like a figurehead or "face" for the EU, and it may be that the most significant consequence of selecting Catherine Ashton is to reinforce the stereotype of British teeth.

[Tyyr]

Ya know, this is an idiotic discussion even by internet standards.

Anyways, the European aristocracy seems to be doing the best they can to rid themselves of that pesky "democracy" fad. They'll set things right again shortly and get the serfs put back in their place.

[Sionnach Glic]

Discussion of British teeth split to FC.

[Deepcrush]

Ya know, this is an idiotic discussion even by internet standards.

Anyways, the European aristocracy seems to be doing the best they can to rid themselves of that pesky "democracy" fad. They'll set things right again shortly and get the serfs put back in their place.

I read this to some of the people in our Social Studies department. We had a teach from across the hall come over and ask us to quiet the laughter down.