It didn't take long for Britain's senior European Commissioner, Sir Leon Brittan (59), to emerge as a candidate for the presidency. Even before the Liberal group in the European Parliament proposed the vice-president as a candidate to lead the Commission on a temporary basis, Sir Leon's ambitions were difficult to hide.
Within hours of the resignation of the Commission on Monday night, he could barely disguise his disgust with Mr Jacques Santer. Sir Leon told MEPs: "What is now needed is clear, comprehensive root-and-branch reform."
If Sir Leon were to win sufficient backing, he would most likely sit in the president's chair until the end of the year after which he intends to return to a desk job in the City of London. Sir Leon's route to Brussels followed the usual pattern of ex-prime ministers and unremarkable domestic politicians. The former Tory Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher, named him as one of the two British EC Commissioners in July 1988, two years after he had resigned as Trade and Industry Secretary over the Westland affair.
He is not regarded with great affection in Brussels but is admired and respected for his ambition and achievements, especially as a trade negotiator. Perhaps his the biggest advantage over rivals is that he is regarded as a safe pair of hands, and in the light of the report on fraud and mismanagement, a clean pair of hands.