Operation sideline Blair

Paul Waugh, the Evening Standard’s specialist political speculator and part time David Milliband cheerleader has been at it again. Yep, Waugh has been peddling his unique brand of rumours while bigging up the merits of the boy wonder of the Cabinet.

Waugh is the soothsayer who last month declared that David Milliband had replaced Tony Blair in the running for the new EU foreign affairs job. Just over a week later and Waugh reported in the Standard that actually Milliband was never in the running for the job. Waugh conceded that at a press conference Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that “David Milliband was never a candidate for the job. Britain has only one candidate for the European council positions. That candidate is Tony Blair for the presidency.”

The new news, sorry gossip, from Waugh is that Milliband actually turned down the job because he is planning a future bid for the PM job. According to Waugh’s spooky powers of deduction Milliband rejection of the top EU job, a job we are now told he was never really seriously in the running for, was so he can concentrate on a leadership bid.

Waugh’s printed ramblings are just another example of media speculation surrounding Milliband and the EU presidency job. He was far from on his own as a host of other newspapers talked up Milliband for the presidency and at the same time downplayed Blair’s chances. The ever on the ball Daily Mail even reported that Gordon Brown was ‘secretly backing’ Milliband.

All seems like a concerted press campaign against the possibility of Blair landing the EU post.