Tony Blair has made a belated effort to revive his attempt to be president of Europe with a flurry of personal telephone calls to continental leaders, The Times has learnt.

The former Prime Minister’s 11th-hour intervention comes after criticism from Left and Right that he has not done enough to earn their support. The flickering flame of Mr Blair’s candidacy could be extinguished tonight when European Union heads of government, including some of his rivals, gather in Germany for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Mr Blair, who has always insisted that he is not campaigning for the post, will be far away in the Middle East, where he is a peace envoy.

Attention has instead focused on an alternative line-up by which David Miliband secures the foreign affairs post of Europe’s High Representative.

Although Mr Miliband has repeatedly stated that he does want not the job, there are fears within the Government that he could be persuaded. Labour figures are said to be beseeching him to stay, with one saying that his departure now would be a “pre-election betrayal of the party”.

Downing Street said yesterday that Gordon Brown would continue to press Mr Blair’s case and emphasised that there was no particular reason to be pessimistic. While wary of a “stitch-up” in the next few days, a senior British official said: “The longer this goes on, the more chance there is that other candidates will falter.”

Lord Mandelson, the First Secretary, has warned European leaders against opting for the lowest common denominator. He said: “If we keep on going for second or third best because the choice is less painful or difficult, in the end we are going to be losers.”

Sources in Britain and Europe say that in recent days Mr Blair has spoken directly with several EU leaders, and tried to contact others, to find out if he still has any chance of being the first holder of a position created by the Lisbon treaty. A close ally said: “Tony got to the stage where he had to court some people, if only to assess whether the game is up or not. He will never say never, but the mood is not very positive. Even supportive people are indicating the consensus is for a committee chairman not a chief. If they went for a big figure, I am quite certain no one could touch Tony.”

Those to whom Mr Blair is believed to have spoken include José Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission, Brian Cowen, the Taoiseach, and Jan Peter Balkenende, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands — himself a contender for the post.

Mr Balkenende and Mr Cowen are known admirers of the former Prime Minister, and while Mr Barroso is also said to have a warm relationship with Mr Blair and to favour a strong president, he is insisting on staying neutral.

One source said that Mr Blair had also spoken to President Sarkozy. He championed his credentials earlier this year but has softened his support amid signs that Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, opposes a high-profile president and wants someone from a smaller nation. Many countries remain perturbed by the opposition of the Conservative Party to a British president of the EU. The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) is thought to be leaning towards Herman Van Rompuy, the Belgian Prime Minister, with Mr Balkenende their second choice.

The centre-left European Socialists (PES) have also indicated that they are less than enamoured with Mr Blair, who ignored them while in Downing Street.

Lord Mandelson hinted at irritation within the Government over such opposition, saying: “The way in which the EPP and PES are approaching this is very old-fashioned, to suit their own needs rather than the wider interests of Europe.”

Mr Blair himself is thought to have highlighted how President Obama failed to attend last week’s EU/US summit in Washington, sending Vice-President Biden in his place. “God knows what the Americans would do if we got [a] Belgian as European president,” commented a friend of former Prime Minister. “They already can’t be bothered with us most of the time.”

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