Ex-prime minister Tony Blair is seen as the front-runner for a permanent EU presidency post, when and if the job is actually implemented. The post of President of the European Council is held for six months on a rotating basis by various heads of member states. Currently the Czech Republic holds the seat, with Mirek Topolanek as president of the council and Vaclav Klaus as president-in-office. The president-in-office is a rather insignificant unofficial position.

How can you tell if a president is asking to spend too much money? (No, it’s not when his lips are moving, wise guy.) It’s when the president has to campaign to get socialist European nations like Sweden, France and Germany to spend more “stimulus” money … and the Euro-socialists refuse.

A few months ago, the British government denied entry to Geert Wilders, the Dutch parliamentarian, who was scheduled to show his 15-minute film about Islam, Fitna, which intersperses selected excerpts from the Koran with clips showing violent acts by radical Islamists. Nazir Ahmed, a Muslim member of the House of Lords who was born in Pakistan, raised a hue and cry. The British Foreign Ministry collapsed and kicked Wilders out as soon as he got off the plane. He was, the British border agency said, a threat to harmony and public security.