Guterres excludes himself from president contest

Date: 03/06/04

THE man thought to be a last-minute entry in the competition for Europe's most important political job has ruled himself out of the running.

Portugal's former prime minister António Guterres was the latest to emerge as a possible future president of the European Commission. The highly regarded Guterres, seen by many as the author of the much-vaunted Lisbon Agenda, had been an unofficial candidate five years ago for the job which eventually went to Romano Prodi.

In 1999, he scored a stunning re-election victory in Portugal, giving his Socialist party the most seats it had ever won.

With the race to be Prodi's successor still wide open, EU diplomats had raised a Guterres candidacy as a real possibility. But, speaking to European Voice, Guterres ruled himself out of the contest, instead throwing his support behind political stablemate, António Vitorino, the Union's commissioner for justice and home affairs.

"I have a very good and close friend who is an excellent candidate [Vitorino]. I would not do anything that might damage his chances," Guterres said. This will come as a disappointment to many, including Stuart Holland, of the University of Coimbra in Portugal, who described Guterres as being in "a class of his own".

EU's leaders have just two weeks to find a successor to Prodi - a decision is expected at the Brussels summit on 17-18 June - but much manoeuvring still lies ahead before they reach agreement.

Former Portuguese Prime Minister, António Guterres, has ruled himself out of becoming European Commission President and, instead, supports his fellow countryman, António Vitorino.