David Miliband touted for EU foreign post as Blair’s chances wane

[FarCenter]

David Miliband has become a surprise contender for the new post of EU foreign minister as an anti-Blair bandwagon gathers pace.

While the possibility of Tony Blair becoming the new president of Europe has dominated debate in Britain, a growing number of EU capitals have been quietly focusing on the merits of Mr Miliband.

No one in Europe believes that both of the prestigious new posts created in the Lisbon treaty could be filled by one country and Mr Miliband’s case has not been pushed by Britain. But around the EU there is a feeling that the Foreign Secretary is more acceptable than his old boss, who is hampered by his association with former President George Bush and his enthusiasm for the Iraq war.

“We have a very favourable impression of Mr Miliband because he has good European credentials,” one Belgian diplomat told The Times.

The more federalist countries such as Belgium and Luxembourg, which strongly oppose Mr Blair because he failed to take Britain into the single currency, were impressed at Mr Miliband’s participation in the Laeken Declaration of 2001, a statement of purpose that set the EU on the path to the Lisbon treaty.

<SNIP> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6886367.ece