As I write, it's being reported the Portuguese Prime Minister José Manuel Durão Barroso may take Romano Prodi's place and become the next Commission President Read about it here  I  And here  I  And here.

If Barroso gets the job, it will be an interesting situation. You see, Barroso supported America in the Iraqi war -- as did Spain. Now things have changed. As you know, Spain's new Socialist government called their troops home. And in Portugal the same swing to the left is occurring. In recent elections the opposition Socialist Party scored a big victory over Barroso's party.

But in the EU parliamentary elections there was a reverse trend -- there was a swing to the right. And since the next Commission President must be approved by the Parliament, this makes Barroso a good choice. You see, Barroso will most likely get a warm welcome by the new EU Parliament, and a cold shoulder back home. Selecting Barroso for the Commission job may make everybody happy.

But, how about Javier Solana's bid for the Commission post? Isn't Solana acceptable to all the EU heads? Yes, he is. But, it is believed Solana may be too much to the left to be acceptable to the new EU Parliament. Instead, Solana's term as High Representative is sure to be renewed.

This is what I think: Compared to Solana, Barroso is a political lightweight. This means if Barroso gets the job, power will continue to flow away from the Commission and to the Council where Solana operates. In time, the new power center created by Solana's Office of High Representative -- soon to become the EU's new Foreign Minister -- will rise to completely dominate the new, super EU.

And should another emergency occur -- as did in Madrid, that time may not be far away.

Stay tuned!