Bruton 'flattered' by talk of EC President's post

FORMER TAOISEACH John Bruton has said he is “very flattered” to be mentioned as a possible candidate for the position of directly-elected European Commission president.

In a “state of the union” address yesterday current Commission chief José Manuel Barroso said European political parties should be strengthened and they should present candidates for the post of president at the European Parliament elections 2014.

Mr Bruton’s name was immediately suggested as a nominee by Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell.

“I’m very flattered that he should think of my name. I haven’t been approached by anybody about it. It’s obviously a matter for the member parties who they decide to choose for that role,” Mr Bruton said.

Mr Mitchell said Mr Bruton should be nominated by the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), Fine Gael’s affiliate in Europe and the dominant political group in EU affairs. He said Ireland’s upcoming EU presidency presented the ideal opportunity.

“It is time for Ireland to aspire to greater EU leadership. John Bruton is a statesman of enormous political and parliamentary experience,” Mr Mitchell said.

“We should immediately commence the process of putting John Bruton’s name forward as our candidate for this nomination. Our presidency of the EU in 2013, the year before European parliamentary elections, gives us the opportunity to commence such a campaign.”

Mr Bruton is a former EU ambassador to Washington and was previously leader of Fine Gael.

Mr Barroso called for “genuine complementarity and cooperation” between European and national parliaments, saying there was a “disconnect” between political parties in Strasbourg and in the various capitals.

European elections were “a national debate between national political parties”, he said.