If you thought the race for the Presidency for European Council would be about intrigue, betrayal and corruption you were wrong – it’s just a lottery.
Tony [Blair] is out of race pilloried by his fellow Brits and socialists. The Swedish and Dutch PMs kindly declined. They are busy with a more serious matter: Who is going to take the job of first president of the EU when Santa Klaus signs the Lisbon Treaty?
The only candidate left in the race is Jean Claude Junker. Do you know him?
Actually there are other obscure guys who compete for the honor such as Herman Van Rompuy and John Bruton (I’ve kindly added a link to wikipedia).
It seems clear to me big fish don’t want a high profile presidency.
The Treaty might be signed next week. The Czech Lisbon Treaty guarantees have been agreed and Klaus is ready to sign if the Constitutional Court give the green light on Wednesday.
In that case, the Swedish PM will call for an exceptional European Summit around 12 -13 Nov.
Don’t forget there is a second big job: the High Representative of Foreign Policy. We might interview them ust to have something interesting to communicate. The lottery seems far more competitive.
My candidates are Javier Solana and Chris Patten. Please not David Miliband… unless you definitively want to sink the European presidency.
As usual we are scarse in female supply!
In such a vanity fair where are citiznes? There is no chance for us to utter a word. Don’t mention choice. We will try to interview the candidates on their plans for civil society but I’m sure with no success.
What’s civil society doing in the meantime? Usual internal rivaleries keep all of us busy. This helps politicians avoid any checks and balances.
I was in Brussels a week ago. It was a confrence on social economy in Europe hosted at EESC: Getting to the end of the tunnel: creating the right environment for the Social Economy. It turned into a psycho-drama with kids winging at ‘nasty mummy’ European Commission.
Networks and umbrellas quarrel about values and identity, bickering like old widows. The sector holds the social capital but doesn’t invest it. It’s hidden under the mattress – locked in the safebox waiting for Godot.
Where is the benefit for citizens in all of this if the third sector doesn’t overcome its internal divisions to hold politicans accountable?
Cosa fa VITA?
Da 30 anni VITA è la testata di riferimento dell’innovazione sociale, dell’attivismo civico e del Terzo settore. Siamo un’impresa sociale senza scopo di lucro: raccontiamo storie, promuoviamo campagne, interpelliamo le imprese, la politica e le istituzioni per promuovere i valori dell’interesse generale e del bene comune. Se riusciamo a farlo è grazie a chi decide di sostenerci.