Poor Tony Blair – sabotaged by his own countryman. Just weeks ago, Mr Blair looked like the frontrunner to be president of the European Union. But now William Hague, Britain's shadow foreign secretary, has let the rest of Europe know that the opposition Conservative party would regard his appointment as a “hostile gesture”. Since the Tories and Mr Hague are likely to be in government by the middle of next year, after a British general election, their views have real weight. Charles Grant, head of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, says: “On my travels around Europe . . . I have found that Hague's comments have made a huge impact.” Mr Blair's candidacy has been badly damaged.

There is, of course, history between Mr Hague and Mr Blair. A decade ago, Mr Blair was prime minister of Britain and at the height of his powers, and Mr Hague was the leader of a struggling Tory party. Ten years on, both men have gone down in the world. Mr Blair is an elder-statesman for hire. Mr Hague has seen the Tory leadership pass to a younger, more charismatic man.

Some in Britain regard Mr Hague's anti-Blair comments as an act of petty spite. Others see it as worse than that: Mr Hague, they charge, is so blinded by his Eurosceptic ideology that he is prepared to damage both Britain and the EU, by blocking Mr Blair.