The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama was widely dismissed as premature, a sentiment that President Obama himself acknowledged in his acceptance speech. (Read the speech here.) Furthermore, President Obama also felt it necessary to explain why he could accept the award even while he was the commander in chief of the armed forces in an escalating war in Afghanistan.

He explained that “War, in one form or another, appeared with the first man. At the dawn of history, its morality was not questioned; it was simply a fact, like drought or disease -- the manner in which tribes and then civilizations sought power and settled their differences.”

The Financial Times today carries an article by Paavo Lipponen, former prime minister of Finland, outlining his view of what the role of president of the European Council entails. (Read it here.) Another candidate launch, in other words, to join those of Mr Blair and Mr Juncker. No doubt it is certainly welcome that there is so much public speculation about who should fill the important leadership roles in the European Union, but I can’t avoid the feeling that this campaign is over the wrong job. After all, it is the president of the Commission that is the more powerful role within the institutions: it sets the legislative agenda, controls the budget and leads the executive.