Gerri Peev: Forget Blair for El Presidente, what about Boris?

David Cameron should be careful what he wishes for. Clearly, he doesn't want Tony Blair to overshadow his own ascent to power. Imagine Barack Obama skipping London and heading straight to Brussels to deal with President Blair instead of Prime Minister Cameron.
As the Tory leader said, he does not want an "all singing, all dancing, all acting" president in the form of Blair. The truth is, Blair is a smoother, more experienced and better version of Cameron than Cameron. Perhaps, however, he should be mindful that should Britain miss out this time but have a chance for the second pop at the presidency, the alternative could be just as dangerous.
Sources tell me that Boris Johnson may not want to serve more than one term as London Mayor. Again, Cameron is slightly nervous about Boris coming back to Westminster in some senior capacity and possibly challenging him for the top job in future. After all, he is the only contemporary Tory leader with any experience of government. So how about Boris Johnson for EU President? He went to an international school in Brussels while his dad was a Eurocrat. He also frequently boasts of his Ottoman heritage - quite useful in the current context of the EU debate about whether or not to let Turkey in. And the timing could also work. Boris' term as London Mayor is set to end in the middle of 2012 - around the same time that the first term of an EU president was up for grabs....

Hamish Macdonell - A political apprentice

FORGET Boris Johnson, a new name has emerged as a runner in the race to become the next London Mayor - Sir Alan Sugar.
Bookies William Hills have cut his price from 10/1 to 8/1 to succeed Brois, pushing out Ken Livingston to 16/1. Hills are also offering 66/1 that Sir Alan is elected and chooses either Nick Hewer or Margaret Mountford as his Deputy, whilst a TV programme to decide the deputy is a 100/1 shot.
"If Sir Alan decides to run for Mayor he will be a near on certainty, the only reason that you can get 8/1 is that we think he will be too busy with his other business interest to commit to the role," said Hill's spokesman Rupert Adams.
Also: 150/1 Any of the Current Crop Of Apprentices to be Sir Alan's Number Two in the London Mayor's Office.
William Hill London Mayoral Elections 2012: 1/1 Boris Johnson, 8/1 Alan Sugar, 16/1 Ken Livingstone, 16/1 Jon Cruddas, 25/1 Trevor Phillips, 25/1 David Lammy, 25/1 Tessa Jowell, 25/1 Richard Branson, 33/1 Bar.
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