What about gender equality?

With the Lisbon Treaty eventually signed by the Czech President Vaclav Klaus earlier last week in the coming days the two remaining top positions of the European Union will be filled. Indeed, out of the four top positions of Europe, two have been already given. Earlier this summer, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso was elected President of the European Commission and MEP Jerzy Buzek (EPP, Poland) was elected President of the European Parliament.
This week, will be finalized the appointments of the President of the European Council and the position of the Foreign Minister who will also be first vice-president of the European Commission. The best chances for the presidency of the European Council are with Jan Peter Balkenende (Netherlands, EPP). Candidates for the post also are the Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy (EPP) and the Prime Minister of Luxemburg Jean Claude Juncker (EPP). The case of Van Rompuy seems difficult because he successfully managed to put together a compromise government in Belgium which for a long time was without a government. In this context, Herman Van Rompuy was catalytically helped by the EPP president Wilfried Martens, one of the most astute and intelligent politicians of Europe who managed to be Prime Minister of Belgium for 12 years and formed nine successful coalition governments. The case of Juncker has even less chances since the British will never accept him no matter what he does or says.
For the post of the Foreign Minister will be given to a socialist who most probably will be the British David Miliband (Labor), better, much better, than Tony Blair who trapped European and American troops to Iraq on the grounds of fabricated intelligence reports that he knew that were false. Miliband will keep the United Kingdom tight into the European Union, will serve well European-American relations and will strictly follow Washington in the new cold war with Russia. The other socialist candidate is the former Italian (Socialist) Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema who has no chances since the only achievement in his political CV, besides the bombing of former Yugoslavia, is his close relations with Hezbollah.
It is quite strange, however, that from the four top posts of Europe, France, the political locomotors of Europe, is absent which means a last minute “French speaking” surprise, cannot be excluded. French Commissioner will be Michel Barnier, who is likely to get the Competition portfolio.
One last observation is that the way things are shaping for the four top posts of Europe, women are completely out which explains why president Jose Barroso is putting serious pressures to prime ministers of Member States to sent women as Commissioners. Given that the Commission will have already two men vice presidents, Antonio Tajani who is already and cannot be ubdergraded and the Foreign Minister who ex officio will be the first vice-president of the Commission, it is highly ;likely that in the new Barroso Commission, all other vice presidents will be women.