German Green MEP Reinhard Bütikofer outlines his concerns about Cathy Ashton this week in Strasbourg, including that she’s a ‘sentence generator’:
So it gave me an idea. Now you can have a go as well, thanks to the automated Ashton Sentence Generator…
Cathy Ashton - CC / Flickr
Today’s Daily Telegraph carries a story on rumours that the EU’s foreign minister high representative for foreign affairs Cathy Ashton might quit the position within months. It’s interesting to read this as, when reading that Lutz Güllner quit as her spokesman last month, I remarked to some friends that I was starting to wonder whether she would be able to see out her whole term… While Ashton’s own intentions cannot be determined there are plenty of people in Brussels wondering what the future holds for her.
I have nothing against Ashton personally – the one time I heard her speak live I was impressed by her approach, and politically I think she’s fine. The problem however is that she is the victim of the macho Brussels game where you need to play individuals and states off against one another in order to advance, and that is just not her style. I think Margot Wallström suffered the same way but she dealt with communications rather than foreign affairs and hence could persevere.
The problems for Ashton started with her appointment. The socialists wanted one top position, and the Brits wanted a top position, and David Miliband did not want the job while no-one wanted Mandelson again. So Ashton was appointed rather by default. Backing from Brown – with his eye on the UK election even since last autumn – is not much use in Brussels, while Germany and France were simply tolerant of Ashton at best.
It did not take long for the sniping to start – Barnier and Quatremer having a go over Haïti, and an ongoing wrangle over the future of the External Action Service that prompted Miliband and Bildt to write an open letter backing her approach, and then the European Parliament uniting in opposition to the plans, which have now also hit further problems due to the role of Ashton in development aid.
So it strikes me that Ashton is rather lonely – politically, and even personally as her family and political allies are almost all still in the UK. She’s going to need some determined backing from somewhere, and fast, if things are to improve. But with the UK election happening next week and other Member States focusing on economic crises elsewhere I cannot see that happening.
I try to see the positives where I can, but I am really struggling this evening. Who actually wanted Barroso, Van Rompuy and Ashton to be running the European Union? It all strikes me as the lowest common denominator of the worst sort. As @kosmopolit pointed out on Twitter, the three of them – together with EP President Buzek – tick all the boxes: north-south, male-female, left right etc. The problem is the boxes they don’t tick! Leadership, inspiration, relevant experience.
If everyone had played things differently we could have had a team that would have ticked all the boxes – including leadership, inspiration, relevant experience… Pascal Lamy as President of the Commission, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga as President of the European Council, and David Miliband as High Representative.
But it was not to be. We have a vacuous lump of lard as Commission President, an unknown Belgian opposed to Turkish membership of the EU as President of the European Council, and Baroness Ashton as High Rep, competent but rather uninspiring.
I am really not impressed.
Photo credits, Creative Commons Licenses: Miliband | Freiberga | Lamy | Barroso | Van Rompuy | Ashton
Baroness Ashton - CC / Flickr
Rumours are reaching me via Twitter that Baroness Ashton, UK Labour politician and outgoing Commissioner for Trade is the individual the socialists are now backing to be the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy. I must say I am astounded.
Let me at least set the record straight about what I think about Ashton. I was not immensely positive about her appointment to the Commission just over a year ago (I even questioned the legality of the appointment), but since then I think she has been OK. I happened to hear her speak a few weeks ago in Brussels and was genuinely impressed by her approach. She was coherent, thoughtful and genuinely decent.
I’m also very happy that one of the top jobs is going to a woman.
But really, how will a top team of Barroso, Ashton and Van Rompuy look? None of them are remotely inspirational… Surely Barroso – Freiberga – Miliband or something like that would have been a better bet? The Belgian press are even confirming the news now. I was hopeful for something better than Barroso – Solana, but I am really not sure we have achieved that.
If you’re looking for news about Baroness Ashton’s nomination for High Representative click here
That close to the job: Baroness Ashton - CC / Flickr
All of the analysis of Shriti Vadera’s move to some sort of G20 post has led to questions about what her departure means for Gordon Brown and for government. But what does it mean for the EU? For Vadera was tipped to become the British member of the European Commission this autumn.
I cannot determine how much this decision is Vadera jumping or Brown putting an ally in what he considers to be an important position, but it also seems to show – once more – that Brown does not have his eye on EU business. A decent Commission job is surely a better bet than some undefined position in some vacuous talking shop of twenty countries..?
But I diverge…
All of this seems to make Britain’s nomination to the European Commission rather straightforward: Baroness Ashton, Commissioner for Trade for just under a year since Über-Lord Mandelson’s return to the cabinet is now surely odds on to be put forward for a full five year stint. She’s the most likely candidate because, well, there’s no-one else that could do it and whose nomination would not provoke a by-election.
Word on the street in Brussels is that Ashton is very solid, and good to work with, but is very low profile. This would surely mean that Barroso could get away with allocating a rather minor portfolio to the UK. With France likely to propose Barnier, and Germany to put forward Schäuble (if Black-Yellow wins the election) the UK is going to look rather weak in the Commission in comparison to other larger Member States.
