As Tony Blair's chances of becoming the first president of Europe are dwindling, plan B (for Balkenende) appears to be swinging into action. The Dutch prime minister's name continues to be mentioned in the corridors of power in Brussels, and his Christian Democrat party confirmed to Dutch NOS TV that they are seriously preparing for a possible departure of their leader.

Jan Peter Balkenende himself cheerfully continues to deny that he is a candidate for the EU's top job and is rejecting speculations as "nonsense". Yet he never explicitly denied that he might leave for Brussels. The Dutch Christian Democrats told NOS that they do not want early elections in case of Mr Balkenende's departure. Instead, Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen should become his successor at the head of the cabinet.

Leaving the Dutch in disarray
The Christian Democrats' coalition partners, Labour and the orthodox Christian Union, would prefer for Mr Balkenende to stay. It is not clear how they feel about an early election. Polls suggest that Labour would be decimated, and there would be landslide gains for Geert Wilders' anti-Islam Freedom Party and leftwing liberal D66. Anonymous sources close to the cabinet told de Volkskrant daily that a snap election would paralyse the government for at least half a year, amidst a financial crisis. Mr Balkenende appears unreceptive to this argument against his leaving, the sources said, adding, "Once Brussels is asking him, he's gone."

Blair also ran
Speculation about Mr Balkenende's future mounted when sources close to an EU climate summit in Brussels pointed to Britain's perceived lack of commitment to the EU. Support for the former Labour prime minister of the UK is minimal among socialist parties in Europe. Only Gordon Brown's government continues to recommend Mr Blair as a good candidate.

Waiting for Klaus
Formal discussion among EU member states about who is to become the permanent president of the council of ministers will not begin until Eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus finally signs the Lisbon Treaty. EU ministers agreed at the summit in Brussels to grant Mr Klaus his wish of an opt-out for the Czech Republic, which bars claims on Czech properties by the descendants of ethnic Germans expelled from the country after WWII.

Mr Klaus is expected to sign the EU reform treaty if the Czech Constitutional Court next week throws out objections to it which were raised by a number of senators in Prague. Only then will it become clear whether the EU will opt for plan B: Balkenende for president.

(NOS, dpa, afp, Ananova, Volkskrant)