Italians want me back, says beleaguered Prodi

The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, has reopened speculation about his future in Brussels after claiming to have been "inundated" with appeals to return to Italian politics.

The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, has reopened speculation about his future in Brussels after claiming to have been "inundated" with appeals to return to Italian politics.

Mr Prodi's remarks, in an interview with La Stampa newspaper, came amid renewed criticism of his failure to deal with a series of public relations setbacks and to re-establish the credibility of an institution dented by the scandal which forced out his predecessor.

The civil servants of Brussels have left for their annual August exodus to the beaches with morale at rock bottom, many convinced that Mr Prodi's package of internal reforms are designed to attack their terms of employment and working conditions. Meanwhile in key policy areas, the commission is being sidelined as the action shifts to defence and security, and justice and home affairs - the jealously guarded preserve of member state governments.

Most dangerous of all is a proposal from the French President, Jacques Chirac, that a "pioneer group" of member states should forge ahead towards faster integration with its own secretariat, by-passing existing structures.

Critics are already concluding that the Commission is finished as a political force. Last year's scandal, triggered by a damning inquiry into cronyism and financial mismanagement, inflicted heavy damage on both the policy steering commission, which resigned en masse, and the European Parliament, which helped force it to go.

One year on, the Commission is still recovering from the shock, while the European Union's law-making Council of Ministers has moved to fill the vacuum. To make matters worse for the executive, France, once its champion, has been trying to work through other institutions which it believes it can influence more easily. But the malaise is not as deep as it seems.

Ironically, France's idea of a "pioneer" group of states to lead Europe is already acting as a wake-up call to governments who want to safeguard the role of the Commission as an honest broker and a check on the powers of big nations.

Small but enthusiastic member countries such as Portugal, Ireland and Finland are horrified at the threat posed to the institution by the French proposals. They will undoubtedly receive backing from the applicant countries of Eastern Europe.

The upshot is that, for the first time in Mr Prodi's presidency, a powerful alliance of states now has an interest in ensuring that the Commission is undermined no further.

Meanwhile, commissioners holding powerful portfolios, such as Mario Monti, the competition commissioner, or Pascal Lamy, who has the trade portfolio, are already shining. A document produced by the Commission as it went on its summer break highlighted a solid output of work across the board over the last 12 months.

Analysts believe the institution may well be able to stage a comeback if it can purge its remaining pockets of arrogance and concentrate on results. As one EU official put it: "The Commission needs to make sure it serves the member states and Europe's consumers. As an institution it needs to be useful and not just to be there for their own sake."

Similarly, Mr Prodi's lack of public relations prowess need not stop him carving out an important behind-the-scenes role if he resists the calls to return to Italy. That seems to be the private view of his predecessor but one, Jacques Delors, who is said to believe that Mr Prodi's stock will rise - once he starts solving problems for Europe's prime ministers.