SO great is the interest in the job of European Commissioner, now that it is known Pee Flynn will not be reappointed when his term ends in December and all the obvious, well-aligned candidates would cause the Government a dreaded by-election, that in some quarters they speak of little besides who next could boast of three pensions, three homes, three housekeepers and so forth.
Latest name in the pot is that of Mary Robinson, who according to reports from Geneva might like the move. Sources close to the former president deny she has any interest whatsoever.
Meanwhile, Dick Spring's prospects of becoming head of the EU's new foreign affairs unit have suffered another blow. France's European Affairs Minister, Pierre Moscovici, said in Stockholm recently that Sweden's opposition leader Carl Bildt shouldn't get the job because he came from a neutral country. The same criterion (which he said was not a veto, merely opposition), applied to Spring also. The French, who haven't a declared candidate for the job yet, are traditionally the most hawkish in demanding that the job go to a member of the Western European Union. They have said so on several occasions and carry a lot of clout. New names in the running with the Spaniard Carlos Westerndorp and the German Rudolf Scharping are Britain's Paddy Ashdown, who is standing down as leader of the Lib Dems, and Chris Patten.
But there's always the commissionership. Although Attorney General, David Byrne remains the front runner - safe pair of hands, friend of Bertie Ahern, no by-election required, good track record, easy to find a replacement for among the FF-ers in the Law Library - Spring's friends could be in power again come the appointment.