The Dutch Prime Minister has emerged as one of the favourites to become the first EU President as the carousel of rumours and speculation over the new top post reaches fever pitch. Jan Peter Balkenende, a mild-mannered figure who is well-liked in Brussels, is seen as a strong challenger to more controversial rivals, including Britain's Tony Blair. Although Mr Balkenende has neither denied nor ruled out his intention to run for the job, he is likely to be pressed heavily on the issue during this week's summit of EU leaders in Brussels. 
 
In an exclusive interview with RNW last month, Mr Balkenende said he still had "plenty to do in The Hague", though he did not say 'no' to the chance of heading the EU Council of 27 EU member states.
 

No superstar
Scores of European newspapers have rated his chances highly, thanks to his European credentials and the fact that he represents one of the smaller EU member states. Diplomats have suggested that the appetite for a political 'superstar', such as Mr Blair, is waning. "Mr Blair is particularly controversial, but any high-profile European figure would be a divisive figure," the Financial Times said.
 
On Tuesday, Luxembourg's Prime Minister fired the starting gun in the race for the job by becoming the first to publicly state his availability for the post. "If I was called to do it, I would have no reason to turn it down," Jean-Claude Juncker, a veteran statesman, told the French newspaper, Le Monde. It is an open secret that Mr Juncker, who possesses the perfect European profile, has had his eye on the job, but he is also seen as old hat, says Antonio Missiroli of the Brussels-based European Policy Centre.
 
"He is a sort of living memory of the EU," says Mr Missiroli, referring to Mr Juncker's chairmanship of the Eurogroup since 2004 and his 14-year leadership of tiny Luxembourg. "But there's a big appetite for new faces in the EU and Mr Juncker doesn't have enough gravitas to be taken seriously by world leaders."
 
A long wait
However, hopes of a big nomination later this week have been all but dashed thanks to fresh delays to the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, which needs to come into force before the President can be appointed. The Czech Constitutional Court said it would not rule on a legal challenge to the Treaty until next week, which could potentially strengthen the hand of the eurosceptic Czech President, who has vociferously resisted signing the document until now. Vacláv Klaus has demanded last-minute changes to the Treaty, which threaten to overshadow the summit.
 
The President is likely to be nominated during a special summit of EU leaders next month.
 

Balkenende's rivals

• Tony Blair: burdened by the Iraq war, too high-profile to act as a mediator among 27 nations. Britain is not at core of EU.
   
• Herman van Rompuy: a wild card whose motivation might be his loathing of his current job, that of Prime Minister of Belgium.
   
• Felipe González: Spain's longest-serving Prime Minister who is dated both in age and outlook.
   
• Jean-Claude Junker: a Brussels veteran whose federalist zeal does not go down well with in some EU capitals, least of all in London. Seen as past his sell-by date.
   
• Paavo Lipponen: former prime minister of Finland, a country with a long tradition of fielding top-notch candidates for international posts.

Photo: ANP