DOES Peter Kilfoyle really want Jean-Claude Juncker, Paavo Lipponen, Herman Van Rompuy, Felipe Gonzales or Jan Peter Balkenende to be President of the European Council?

I have just about heard of a couple of these gents, but next to Tony Blair we are talking about Championship or Div 1 compared to the Premiership. The whole point of having a President of Europe is so we can have an effective voice alongside China, India and the United States.

That is not possible with the current system whereby 27 nations take it in turns to head up the European Union for six months. That is one of the reasons we need the Czech President Vaclav Klaus to affix his seal to the Treaty of Lisbon as soon as maybe.

I fully respect Peter Kilfoyle’s central objection to Mr Blair getting this post. It is that he led us into what the member for Walton calls the “illegal and immoral war” in Iraq. Kilfoyle wants to punish him by denying him the £247,000-a-year post.

It looked over the weekend that support for Blair was draining away, but I think we need to examine what is in the best interests of Britain.

Our half-hearted support for the European Union means we rarely get our people into positions of influence. Blair’s premiership was indeed overshadowed by all that nonsense about weapons of mass destruction. But he also demonstrated his ability to bring people together with the Good Friday agreement.

Peter Kilfoyle, having strongly supported Tony Blair for the leadership, feels personally let down by him over Iraq and other issues, but to seek to undermine his candidacy is not in Britain’s best interests.

Kilfoyle’s view is shared by the Conservatives whose opposition has been led by William Hague. His evocation of President Blair being greeted at No 10 with gritted teeth by Gordon Brown, who then demands to know when he’s going to make way for him once again, is very funny.

But there’s a growing view that the Tories are whipping up a storm over President Blair as a distraction from a potential embarrassment. It now looks unlikely they are not going to have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty if it is fully ratified and they win office.

THE great-grandson of William Gladstone has inherited his ancestor’s eye for an opportunity.

After Lord Alton had given us an excellent lecture in St George’s Hall last week on “Gladstone, Son of Liverpool, Scourge of Tyrants;” Sir William was called to give the vote of thanks. He did so adding a big plug for his bicentenary portrait book.

Let’s hope it helped the author who uncannily resembles the Grand Old Man.