Britain Trades Favors for E.U. Presidency

Though Tony Blair has not yet announced his candidacy for European Union president, backdoor deals are already being negotiated between the E.U.'s three most powerful countries. Gordon Brown is pushing heavily for Blair's appointment, and officials at 10 Downing Street said that top post choices are being offered to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in exchange for their support. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that Blair's appointment would "stop the traffic" in Washington and Beijing, while detractors, such as Conservative Party leader David Cameron, are pressing for a more neutral figure to head the E.U. Such backdoor deals, though, could anger smaller E.U. nations, who fear being left out in the cold. "The Conservatives have warned European leaders that they will view it as 'a hostile act' if the former Labour prime minister is handed the job," The Daily Telegraph reports.