Top EU jobs for women
Around the time of the French presidential election a rather cheesy French TV series featured the French president, Segolene Royal, picking up the phone to speak to her American counterpart Hillary Clinton. and the other fictional projection looks increasingly less likely with every day that passes.
But should a woman be the president of Europe? Or one the presidents, anyway. The European Commissioner for Communications is about to launch a .
She'll be arguing her case in tomorrow's Financial Times and many other European newspapers.
Mainly because Tony Blair's hat is halfway into the ring, there's been a fair bit of speculation about who will get the new job of president of the council.
Like the nearly new job, the beefed up representative on foreign affairs, it is set up under the .
Gossip about who might become president of the commission, if it's not Barroso again, and who'll be president of the European Parliament has been restricted to inside the petit ring, if indeed that is the Brussels equivalent of the Washington Beltway and Westminster village.
Wallstrom, whose first big political job was as Sweden's minister for women , argues that it is time to break the male cartel. She notes that when top EU jobs are discussed there's always lots of talk about the balance between small and large countries, between left and right but nothing at all about gender balance. So "men choose men".
She make a good point noting that is unusual in having more women than men. (Is it the first in Europe? The world?) She is right that it is a fairly extraordinary state of affairs that politics is still so male-dominated.
She also say if there were more men than women in politics "things would be done differently". Is this true? To those who say women would mean a softer and more consensual approach I would answer with two words "Margaret Thatcher". But I do think that women in politics are less driven by their own egos, more concerned with issues than grandstanding. It is one of the reasons that Angela Merkel is so impressive: she gets on with solving problems. But a quick glance across the pond might see my theory crash and burn.
Ms Wallstrom also dismisses the argument that there aren't the women around to do the top jobs. She lists Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, Tarja Halonen, president of Finland, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, president of Latvia 1999-2007, Mary Robinson, president of Ireland 1990-97, Dora Bakoyannis, foreign minister of Greece, Ursula Plassnik, foreign minister of Austria, Margaret Beckett, former British foreign secretary, Emma Bonino, former Italian minister for trade and European commissioner.
One name is clearly missing. That of Margot Wallstrom herself. Her spokesman says she's made it clear that she's not interested in a job for herself. We'll see.
I’m Mark Mardell, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's North America editor. These are my reflections on American politics, some thoughts on being a Brit living in the USA, and who knows what else? My 
Comments
or to comment.