TONY BLAIR is unfit to become the first president of Europe because he has been tainted by the “illegal” war in Iraq, Alex Salmond has said.

The first minister said Blair's role in the conflict made it impossible for him to unite the European Union's 27 states, many of whom were opposed to the invasion.

The former prime minister, who has been active as a Middle East envoy, has held discussions with key allies, including Jonathan Powell, his former chief of staff, on how to become president of the European Council next year. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has touted Blair as a “good choice” for the role.

Salmond, who has made no secret of his enmity for Blair in the past, said that he wished Scotland was independent so that he could veto his appointment.

“I'm hoping that Scotland will proceed to independence quick enough to have a vote so that we can vote against him,” he said. “Tony Blair would be a deeply controversial figure to be EU president. I think he's disqualified his candidacy because of one word, and that word is Iraq.”

The post, which has a 30-month term, is proposed in the Lisbon treaty on EU reform. If all states ratify the treaty, the position will replace the current six-month rotational presidency.

The new president would be the permanent chair of the council of ministers, Europe's principal decision-making body.

Salmond said he had been studying the election mechanism because he had deep misgivings about Blair. “As far as I can tell, everyone shuts themselves in a room, and a consensus candidate is then meant to emerge. It's a bit like the election of a pope,” he said.

“When I asked this question in Brussels last week, I was told that no one who wants to be successful should allow their candidature to be pre-announced.

“I thought that was excellent news since the French president had sort of suggested Blair's candidacy. I thought, ‘If that disqualifies him, that's excellent'.”

Salmond added that an independent Scotland would move swiftly to pull out all Scottish troops from Iraq. “I would restrict them to contributing to engagements which have been sanctioned legally by the United Nations,” he said.

“Afghanistan as an engagement is legal. I think it would be useful to have a fairly fundamental assessment of the objectives of the Afghanistan campaign. If we were independent I wouldn't suggest withdrawal without discussion and that reassessment.

“Whereas in Iraq, if Scotland were independent I would set a timetable for withdrawal of troops which would only have as its criteria the safety of the troops involved.”

Salmond's attack on Blair's suitability echoes that of Nick Clegg, the UK leader of the Liberal Democrats, who said recently that if the former prime minister were to become EU president it would be an “act of political vanity”.

David Martin, the Labour MEP for Scotland, said Salmond was fantasising if he thought Scotland would be independent in time to have a say on the appointment, and quite wrong about Blair's personal qualities.

“Tony Blair would be an outstanding president of the EU,” he said. “He's got an international reputation, he's highly regarded by people, and he's got the clout to bang heads together and has the charisma to get decisions taken at a European level.”

Other contenders for the job include Jean-Claude Juncker, prime minister of Luxembourg, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, if she loses a general election next year.

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