Dark horse eyes Europe's top job

Felipe Gonzalez. Photo / AP

He oversaw the modernisation of Spain and secured its entry into the European Union; he ruled for 13 years before falling from view in a 1996 political scandal.

But now Felipe Gonzalez, the charismatic former Socialist Prime Minister, is once more being spoken of as a challenger to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the race to become the first "President of Europe".

The post doesn't actually exist yet, and won't unless Irish voters approve the Lisbon Treaty in a second referendum in October. Candidates are unlikely to emerge until the treaty is ratified. Accordingly, Gonzalez says he is not standing and doesn't aspire to the job.

But for a politician who never in his long career took an uncalculated step, actions speak louder than words.

Gonzalez's third-term Socialist Government collapsed in 1996, and his standing suffered after the "dirty war" in which government-sponsored death squads targeted Eta Basque separatists.

His personal involvement was never proved, and time has laundered his reputation. Gonzalez was active in Spain's recent EU election campaign, formidable at 67, filling stadiums with what observers reckoned was the most convincing analysis of Europe's future by any EU politician.

"It seems Europe is waiting for [US President Barack] Obama to pull the cart, and the rest of us will follow. Europe has been adrift for 20 years," the former Premier said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is key to the shadowy power game surrounding the future leadership of the EU, say analysts including Le Monde's former editor Jean-Marie Colombani.

"Sarkozy wants Gonzalez. He doesn't care if he's a Socialist. He thinks he's best because he'd be the embodiment of a strong president ..."

Yet it was also Sarkozy who previously backed Blair for the Brussels job, according to diplomats. The French President changed his mind, Colombani told El Pais, because "as special EU envoy to the Middle East, Blair hasn't done anything, and with the polemic over his actions on the Iraq war, Sarkozy decided to convince Felipe Gonzalez to present his candidature".

The Catalan Socialist Party wanted to raise Gonzalez's profile during the European election campaign by declaring that he would stand for the EU presidency. But he vetoed it. "Felipe needs to be asked," an insider said. "He won't contest a fight, his pride won't let him. He likes a clear run."

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