Former British premier Tony Blair's chances of becoming the first-ever EU president wilted Friday, as Europe's leaders sought a lesser light to lead a new-look European Union, officials said. At an EU summit, Spain added its no vote to those of the Benelux countries and Hungary, and a senior insider spoke of a shifting tide of leaders leaning toward a representative who is not among Europe's powerhouses. The job, Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said, should go to “a convinced European, with a European vocation to strengthen the Union and all that is common about it”. Among the other possibles are Luxembourg's Premier Jean-Claude Juncker, Latvian's woman former head of state Vaira Vike-Freiberga, or ex-Irish leader John Bruton. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has ruled himself out, although this usually means little in Brussels. Chances of Blair dimmed Thursday when Socialist leaders from the continent refused to back their Labour Party colleague. The French also leaned away from Blair over his role in the Iraq war and resistance to British use of the euro.
