BRUSSELS (EJP)---An Italian politician perceived as "anti-Israeli and anti-American" has emerged as frontrunner for the post of future EU Foreign Minister after British David Milliband killed off speculation that he would be interested, saying he prefers to serve for Britain.
Leftist Massimo D’Alema, a former Foreign Minister in the Italian government then led by Romano Prodi, is supported by the group of European Socialists and Social Democrats.
But the designation of the new head of the EU foreign policy depends very much on who will become the first President of the European Union, a job created under the Lisbon Treaty, the EU’s reform blueprint which is expected to come into force on December 1.
Previously the EU heads of state and government have had a new President every six months, as the Presidency of the Council passes from one country to another. With the Lisbon Treaty, the European Council will get a permanent President with a term of office of two and a half years, with the possibility of a second term. The aim is to increase continuity in the guidelines for the EU’s work.
The current Swedish EU presidency under Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has called for an emergency summit in Brussels next Thursday to settle the question of the designation of the two posts.
Reinfeldt announced that after taking soundings from the other 26 heads of government this week, there was no sign of a consensus.
He dismissed a Polish proposal for a more open contest by declared candidates as "unrealistic." The Poles suggested that candidates should give job interview-type presentations at the EU summit dinner before the final choice by a qualified majority vote is made.
Finland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia support the Polish proposal which is designed to help smaller member states have a say in the selection process amid concerns that Germany, France and the UK aim to push through a back-room deal.
Reinfeldt said he intended to table only one name for each post at Thursday’s summit, but admitted he might not have the names ready until the summit began and that he could not be sure of the outcome.
He was aiming for "total agreement" over the posts but the decisions would be taken by qualified majority vote "if needed", meaning there could be no national vetoes.
For the post of EU President, the Prime Ministers of Belgium and of the Netherlands, respectively Herman Van Rompuy and Jan-Peter Balkenende, appear to be the frontrunners after Britain’s candidate, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, lost support among several EU member states for his pro-Bush stance during the war in Iraq and for Britain's failure to adopt the euro or join Europe's passport-free Schengen zone.
Others include former Latvian president Vaira Vike-Frieberga, Jean-Claude Juncker, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and former Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen.
Other potential candidates for the job of EU foreign minister include EU commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn, from Finland, Sweden’s Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt and the EU’s former British EU Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson.
Gordon Brown is said to be still pushing for Tony Blair to be given the job of President but despite Europe’s Social Democrats backing for Massimo D'Alema, it is not clear if the Prime Minister, one of Europe's few Social Democratic Prime Ministers (as Labour party chief), will vote for him.
The new eastern European member states are opposed to D'Alema because of his Communist past.
D'Alema, 60, is a member of Italy's main opposition party, the centre-left Democratic Party, but has apparently the backing of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
He was Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister from 2006 to 2008 after Romano Prodi’s center-left coalition, won the elections.
During that time, he was at the center of several polemics with the Italian Jewish community and Israel’s embassy in Rome for his stance and statements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
As Foreign Minister, “he didn’t miss a single occasion to criticize Israel”, a Jewish community leader in Rome has said.
“On several occasions he stated his position in favour of talks with Hamas and Hezbollah,” according to Ricardo Pacifici.
In 2007, D’Alema criticized the Jewish community by saying: “What strikes me is that the most reasonable sectors of Israeli politics are not adequately supported by the more democratic Jewish world”.
According to The Guardian newspaper, the Israeli embassy in Brussels is understood to have voiced objections to a possible D'Alema appointment as foreign policy chief.