President Blair’s ‘plan to save EU’
He tells Germany’s Merkel he will ‘defend Europe’ from the far-right ... fuelling speculation of another bid for Presidency
TONY BLAIR was at the centre of a row last night over claims that he was preparing to mount another bid to become President of Europe.
The former Prime Minister reacted angrily after the Financial Times ran a leaked account of his meeting with Angela Merkel last Tuesday, claiming he had offered his services to the German Chancellor in a high-profile ‘pro-European role’.
The newspaper – which enjoys a close relationship with the Brussels elite – said the former PM had made it clear to Ms Merkel that he was willing to ‘defend the EU from its increasingly vocal critics’.
A ‘Blair ally’ was quoted as saying that as part of the ‘general catchup’, Mr Blair and Ms Merkel discussed how to combat gains by anti-EU parties in the Euro elections, with Mr Blair offering to tour Europe and the world persuading people that ‘being in the EU is good for you’ – despite its financial problems and claims that it has lost touch with voters.
But Mr Blair’s office issued a statement yesterday, which insisted: ‘Tony Blair is not seeking any role, has not discussed any role and doesn’t want any role.’ Mr Blair was understood to be particularly
The idea that he can solve its problems as president is ludicrous Having him as chief would remind voters what they’re against
angered by any implication that the alleged offer was part of a plot to win the Presidency of the EU when Herman Van Rompuy, who beat Blair to the post in 2009, steps down in November.
But insiders told the MoS they believed it was ‘no coincidence’ that reports of his renewed Brussels ambitions came as EU leaders discussed Van Rompuy’s succession.
The news follows growing criticism of Mr Blair’s role as a Middle East peace envoy, leading to the prospect of him being left, embarrassingly, with no political role if it comes to an end.
The leak of Mr Blair’s bid to be ‘Europe’s antidote to Nigel Farage’ – as one Eurosceptic Labour source put it – came 24 hours before he makes a speech in London calling on political leaders to hit back hard at ‘populists’ like Farage.
Tory MP Douglas Carswell said: ‘It was on Tony Blair’s watch that the banking bubble ballooned and we had mass immigration on an unprecedented scale. It was when he was dealing with Europe as Prime Minister that the EU reform agenda fell flat on its face. The idea that he can solve its problems as President is ludicrous. Blair belongs to the past.’
While opposing any attempt to make Mr Blair EU President, Mr Carswell argued that if it went ahead, it would backfire by making it more, not less, likely that Britain would leave the EU.
‘Having him as chief eurocrat, drawing a huge publicly-funded salary, would remind undecided voters what they are against,’ he said. ‘They voted for eurosceptic parties last month precisely because of the supranational EU elite personified by Blair.’
Responding to the rise of Ukip last week, Mr Blair was criticised for complaining about voters who elected Ukip MEPs opposed to rampant immigration – after running an ‘open-door’ policy on migrants while in office.
Mr Blair said it was wrong that the debate on the EU was dominated by ‘anti-immigrant feeling and a desire to get Britain out of Europe’. These were ‘not answers to what is happening in the world’.
But critics were quick to point out the massive rise in immigration during Mr Blair’s term of office.
Mr Blair said: ‘Of course, we should be worried when a party like Ukip comes first in the European election, it would be foolish not to be. But, on the other hand, we also have to stand for what is correct and right for the future of Britain in the 21st Century.
‘When the world is changing so fast, to end up having the debate dominated by anti-immigrant feeling and a desire to get Britain out of Europe, these are not solutions for the 21st Century.’
Quietly-spoken Belgian Mr Van Rompuy, famously described by Nigel Farage as having ‘all the charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of a low-grade bank clerk’ defeated Blair for the prestigious £250,000 a year presidency in 2009.
On that occasion, Mrs Merkel played a critical role in blocking the appointment of Mr Blair, despite strong backing from then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
This time it is believed Mr Blair wants to be sure of Mrs Merkel’s support in advance, to avoid a repeat of his humiliating defeat last time round.
In 2009, several EU l eaders claimed he was ‘too flamboyant’ to be EU President and would be too powerful. Others refused to forgive him for his role in the Iraq War.
Undeterred, Mr Blair launched a campaign for the post to become directly elected, giving the EU President far more power.
In 2010, he said the EU needed a strong leader approved by the people and warned that the Eurozone financial crisis could lead to a political divide between the UK and the rest of Europe.
‘A Europe-wide election for the presidency… is the most direct way to involve the public,’ he said.
Significantly, he said one of the reasons for having a directly elected EU President was the weakness of the European parliament. ‘The problem with the European parliament is that, though clearly democratically elected, people don’t feel close to their MEPs,’ he argued.
The EU President chairs regular meetings of the European Council and represents the European Union at world summits.
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