26 October 2009 - Daily Telegraph
Tony Blair should be made president of the European Union because he warrants a large motorcade, David Miliband has said.
By Andrew Porter, Political Editor
The astonishing reasoning came from the Foreign Secretary who owes his political career to the former prime minister.
Mr Miliband’s intervention is the first time a senior Cabinet minister has openly championed Mr Blair’s campaign to become the first permanent holder of the presidency.
He added: “It's about whether or not Europe wants a strong leader in that position. I think that hasn't yet been resolved in the minds of a number of Europe's leaders.
“My own view is that we need somebody who can do more than simply run through the agenda. We need someone who, when he or she lands in Beijing or Washington or Moscow, the traffic does need to stop and talks do need to begin at a very, very high level. I think Europe has suffered from the lack of that clarity.”
The decision on who gets the role, which was created by the Lisbon Treaty, could come as early as this week.
Mr Miliband went as far to indicate that unless Mr Blair got the job Britain and Europe would fall even further behind America and China in terms of influence.
He said: “I think this is an important moment for Europe. It has got a new Commission, hopefully with the passage of the Lisbon Treaty a new system of running its affairs, a more efficient system.
“It needs to take that opportunity, otherwise we will find the world run by America and China without any reference to us.”
Mr Blair’s supporters, including Mr Miliband who worked for Mr Blair as an adviser before he became an MP, have been lobbying hard for him. Gordon Brown has said he would welcome the appointment but has maintained if was up to Mr Blair whether he wanted to go for the position.
Mr Miliband, who was given his first Cabinet post by Mr Blair, noticeably shifted that official position by putting more pressure on European leaders to back Mr Blair as the “strong leader” that Europe needs.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: "It's about whether or not Europe wants a strong leader in that position. I think that hasn't yet been resolved in the minds of a number of Europe's leaders.”
A spate of reports had claimed that a host of European leaders were in favour of the appointment. But increasingly it appears that many countries have doubts, not least because of Mr Blair’s role in the Iraq war.
Last night Mark Francois, the shadow Europe minister, said: “David Milliband has shown that securing jobs for the boys is more important than respecting the democratic wishes of the British people. The British people do not like the Lisbon Treaty and if it was used to impose Tony Blair as European President without the British people having a say, it would only underline the Treaty’s complete lack of democratic legitimacy.
“Milliband was always a Blairite rather than a Brownite, and that was never more obvious than in his interview on Sunday.”
Mr Miliband, who will today give a major speech on Europe, had been touted as a possible candidate for the position of High Representative for Foreign Affairs, the other high-ranking job that the Lisbon Treaty has created.
But he dismissed that and said: "I am not a candidate for that. I am not available."
Mr Miliband said he expected the new President to be selected by the 27 EU leaders soon after the Lisbon Treaty is finally signed by Vaclav Klaus, the President of the Czech Republic, the only member-state which has not yet ratified.
