HONG KONG — With the signing of the Lisbon Treaty by Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus, the leaders of the 27 countries of the disunity known as the European Union are now free to take an important step backward on the tortuous road to give Europe global relevance that matches the size of its combined economies. They will go into an unholy huddle to choose someone who will bear the grandiloquent title of first president of Europe.

At one level, this is a conspiracy and fraud against the 495 million people of Europe; at another, it's a piece of expensive humbug. The humbuggery has been made dramatic because former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is in the wings anxiously awaiting the call back to political stardom as the first president.

David Miliband, the British foreign secretary, backs Blair, saying the president needs to be an international heavy hitter who could "stop the traffic" — a silly remark, especially from someone who considers himself an intellectual. If traffic-stopping potential is the requirement, then David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gerard Depardieu, Sean Connery, Bono or almost any other celebrity would be a better choice. In any case, police will stop the traffic in any city regardless of which nonentity is chosen because that's the way that the system works.