Moving Blankets

Who has not undergone the syndrome of me-have-that-choose-before-that-al-blanket-of-the class? Dícese of the evil that, in the school, one suffers when the football teams form and the “galactic ones” of the class distribute the futbolero cattle in the patio. This syndrome was the one that the past underwent Thursday people like our minister Moratinos, Tony Blair, ex- Italian prime minister Massimo D’Alema, the Swedish Carl Bildt, or even the own Felipe González. The reason: the leaders of the EU chose to their first permanent president and his Secretary of State. But, for surprise of all and taste of almost anybody, “awarded” they were indeed the-blanket-of-the-class: prime minister Belgian Herman Van Rompuy and the person in charge of Commerce in the European Commission, Catherine Ashton.

The press, the commentators, and even the politicians, have lamented the bet by figures that 98% of the European do not know that is, with curricula not too shining for so complicated positions. In order to understand why of this decision, first it is necessary to see how it was taken, so I will count the history that happened some time ago (five days exactly), in a galaxy (it could be) distant…

The twenty-seven Government and Chiefs of State had been to have dinner in Brussels, and the discussion promised to extend itself. As much that the Swedish presidency had ordered to the coffee and croissants for the breakfast. For Zapatero dinner was rather a tea, because to six of afternoon there is no Spanish who puts between chest and back a food of three plates. For that reason, to be making hunger, the president of the Government along with the Sanhedrin of European Socialists to be decided to whom they proposed like head of the European diplomacy. Zapatero had much to say: it is the reference of the socialist governments in Europe, it was named by his companions to approach positions, and one of its ministers (Moratinos) entered quinielas.

Zapatero arrived at the meeting with the heads of progressive governments and, through the scenic scared that he is to the international press, he happened of length of the tens of plumillas that we hoped in the entrance. So this impertinent one beat to him I scream to know if it were going to put the name of our head of Outer on the table. A full one “not”, and a direct glance, was its answer, which soon took step to an animated debate with the Italian colleagues to know if “” it did not talk about to that it rejected the questions or if responded on the candidacy of Moratinos. We reach the conclusion that it was second.

The Socialists left the encounter with a name before joining themselves with the rest of European partners: Catherine Ashton, which left to the majority with the open mouth and with the prize, the bottle and the Coco, since I was the unique one, in Spain, that it included to this baroness like favorite, and already I at least wrote a pair of days before she was the true “covered” candidate of Gordon Brown (to see links).

With this rabbit outside chistera (the journalists were not few that tried to know to what animal looks like the new Secretary of State), the pact for Goes Rompuy was free by the retirement of the candidacy of Blair, and the federalism of this Belgian did not even squeak as much in the British ears. Thus I said it to my companions in Madrid, who removed the news in Internet. Joy and jolgorio in the Reason that, according to told, removed the news me going ahead to the agencies and 30 minutes before the rest of digitalises.

But more than the successes or the races, to one it interested to know to him why Spain had not pushed by Moratinos when it had so many possibilities on the paper. “It is extremely necessary in the Government”, responded Zapatero after asking it in the press conference. For some, Moratinos is a good diplomat, but not a good politician, and are both qualities those that are required for the position. But sight who will be the new czar of the European foreign policy, of course that the Spanish had deserved to be chosen before the-blanket-of-the-class. And it is not that the women have less possibilities (in the patio of my school there were several girls that kicked our beardless faces), but that the unique criterion that the chosen one fulfils is the sort does not seem the best option to culminate the ten years of works to reinforce the European outer face. Different what had been a presidency into the hands of Felipe González, and so firm and effective a Secretary of State as the Swedish Carl Bildt. But “the sky is very low in Brussels”, as Gónzalez repeats to reject the position, for that reason is better to choose dwarfed for the European chairs.