Hmm. Over lunch yesterday, a friend convinced me that I had been too dismissive of the prospects of working with the new Austrian commissioner, the outgoing foreign minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner. Perhaps I shouldn’t put all my eggs in one basket with Commissioner Rehn (whose people at least acknowledged my application last week) but try for a position with her as well, as a backup?

So this afternoon I called a terribly grand retired Austrian diplomat in Vienna, who doesn’t particularly like her, and asked his advice. He was very supportive and urged me to go for it, subject to checking with another Austrian friend who works in a senior position in Brussels.

So I emailed the guy in Brussels for his advice (couldn’t get him on the phone). He replied almost instantly:

Dear Nicholas,
I know Benita quite well and I know you, and frankly it would not work. As a comforting thought I can tell you that she asked me to join her and I said no, also largely for reasons of personal incompatibility. That [our friend in Vienna] should have suggested this to you is somewhat disingenuous, as he did not at all get along with her. Joining Rehn sounds a much better idea.

Well, I’m convinced. I’ll hold on to see what the Finns say, but leave the Austrians alone.

[Later edit: Hooray, the chap from the Foreign Office finally got back in touch! He was most encouraging about my application to Commissioner Rehn, promising to have a good word put in for me at a very high level. And it turns out there is an extra reason why Ferrero-Waldner might be tricky – her newly appointed chef de cabinet is a British citizen as well, who I don’t especially like, and also she would be hesitant about losing another nationality position – though I could probably get around this by being Irish.]