Martin Callanan has stoked speculation about his chances of being the next EU Commissioner. Writing his last piece for ConHome as leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, Callanan makes his pitch:

“Realistically, governing parties do badly at elections. People are not fully feeling the effects of the economic recovery in their pockets and wage packets. Against that backdrop, to almost beat the main opposition party is a fantastic achievement. In 1999, we won the European elections by a landslide. We all know what happened in 2001. This result was not good for Labour. And for the Liberal Democrats, they proved that they are the Party of ‘IN’ – IN deep s**t…

This might sound odd and even quite concerning, but decisions in the European Parliament are rarely made in the debating chamber, or even in the plenary votes. These days, they are usually made in what’s known as a trilogue – when a selection of MEPs, EU governments and the Commission come together to negotiate on details of specific laws. If you want to defend your interests – that is where it is done. Frankly, we are going to have to work even harder now that our numbers are depleted…

But for me, as they say, one door closes and another opens – so I’m off to push on some doors to see what’s next.”

Could the door be that of the EU Commission…