Oct 30 (Reuters) - European Union leaders are expected to
decide soon who will become the bloc's president under its
planned Lisbon reform treaty.
The president of the Council of EU leaders will be picked
unanimously for a two-and-a-half-year term, strengthening the
current system of a six-month presidency that states hold in
turn. This will happen only if the Czech Republic ratifies the
treaty. The other 26 EU countries have done so.
Below is a list of possible contenders mentioned in the
media or discussed by diplomats and analysts in Brussels.
FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR
Blair's chances have receded after he failed to win the
backing of European socialists who met in Brussels on Thursday
although they are his ruling Labour Party's natural allies.
His candidacy was criticised by some leaders and the
socialists are likely to make it a priority to secure the post
of EU foreign policy chief, a job which Blair is not in the
running for, instead of the president's job. This would in
effect abandon the presidency post to a centre-right candidate.
As a heavyweight in international diplomacy, Blair, 55, had
long been the front-runner but many countries want a less
high-profile candidate who is better able to bring consensus.
His candidacy has been hampered by his support for the
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. He also faces opposition
because Britain is not one of the 16 countries that use the euro
currency and is not in the Schengen area of visa-free travel.
LUXEMBOURG PRIME MINISTER JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER
Juncker, a centre-right leader, was an architect of the EU's
Maastricht Treaty which led to the creation of the euro, and has
on many occasions acted as a mediator between bigger nations on
contentious EU issues.
He says he would listen favourably to calls to serve as
president, but the chairman of the group of finance ministers
whose countries use the euro has denied this means he is putting
his hat in the ring. France would be likely to oppose him.
Juncker, 54, said in a newspaper interview this week he
thought he would not have much chance of getting the job if he
were a candidate. Underlining the need for a leader committed to
consensus, he told the Luxembourger Wort: "This (post) is not
about personal glory or taking an ego trip into extra time."
DUTCH PRIME MINISTER JAN PETER BALKENENDE
Balkenende has emerged as a potential compromise candidate,
diplomats say. He has spent the past few years boosting the role
of the Netherlands -- a founding EU member -- on the world
stage, recently negotiating invitations to G8 and G20 summits,
but was in power when Dutch voters rejected the draft EU
constitution in a referendum in 2005.
Karel De Gucht, a former Belgian foreign minister and now EU
Humanitarian and Development Commissioner, once described the
bespectacled 53-year-old centre-right politician as being "a mix
of Harry Potter and (having) a petty, rigid, bourgeois
mentality".
FORMER FINNISH PRIME MINISTER PAAVO TAPIO LIPPONEN
Lipponen is also a potential compromise between bigger and
smaller member states. A former journalist, he introduced the
concept of a European constitution in a speech in 2000, and was
prime minister from 1995 to 2003. He was also chairman of the
Finnish Social Democratic Party.
Lipponen, 68, underlined his vision for the job in an
article in the Financial Times on Thursday, saying the new
president's main role would be internal, building consensus.
FORMER AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR WOLFGANG SCHUESSEL
Schuessel, 64, has been mentioned as a possible centre-right
contender. A Christian Democrat, he was chancellor from early
2000 until 2007 and he has good ties with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel. But France still faults Schuessel for his
decision to form a coalition government with far-right
anti-immigration populist Joerg Haider in 2000 which prompted
the other EU states to suspend cooperation with the government.
SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER FREDRIK REINFELDT
Reinfeldt is a potential compromise candidate after winning
praise from EU diplomats for Sweden's presidency of the EU in
the second half of this year. The 44-year-old centre-right
leader has used the slogan "taking on the challenge" and made
combating climate change a priority.
FORMER BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER GUY VERHOFSTADT
Verhofstadt, 56, was tipped to be European Commission
president until the emergence of Jose Manuel Barroso late in the
campaign in 2004. He stood down as Belgian prime minister after
nine years in 2008, and is now a member of the European
Parliament and leader of the Liberal grouping in the assembly.
Britain could veto his candidacy as it dislikes his
federalist views regarding the EU.
FORMER LATVIAN PRESIDENT VAIRA VIKE-FREIBERGA
Called "the Iron Lady of the east" by some politicians,
Vike-Freiberga, 71, steered her former Soviet republic into NATO
and the EU as president for two terms between 1999 and 2007.
She returned to Latvia from Canada after an international
academic career as psychology professor. She has no party
affiliation, considers herself a centrist and backed the
U.S.-led war on Iraq. Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis says
Vike-Freiberga is a good candidate and Latvia's economic woes
should not count against her.
FORMER IRISH PRIME MINISTER BERTIE AHERN
Ahern was considered a leading candidate until he resigned
as prime minister in 2008 following allegations of corruption.
He has re-emerged as an outside candidate and will embark on a
Europe-wide media tour which could put him back into the frame.
The 58-year-old, who negotiated the doomed EU constitution
under Ireland's presidency of the bloc, enjoys the support of
many of Europe's leaders and is popular with Barroso.
FORMER IRISH PRIME MINISTER JOHN BRUTON
Irish media say Bruton, who is now the EU's ambassador to
the United States, has put his name forward for the job in a
letter to ambassadors of EU countries in Washington.
Bruton, 62, was Ireland's prime minister from 1994 to 1997
and is nearing the end of his term in Washington.
(Writing by Marcin Grajewski and Timothy Heritage; editing by
Michael Roddy)
