Britain was on the verge of coming away empty-handed from the carve-up of Europe’s top jobs yesterday, even as Lord Mandelson’s name entered the fray as an 11th-hour candidate.

The Business Secretary was forced to deny that he had canvassed for the job of EU foreign minister after the prospects of capturing one of the new posts faded for Tony Blair and David Miliband. Last night Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Swedish Prime Minister, said that he expected Europe’s first president to be named after a dinner in Brussels on November 19.

Yesterday President Sarkozy talked up the Belgian Prime Minister as Europe’s first president, seemingly abandoning Mr Blair as his first choice. Mr Miliband is preparing to make a statement ruling himself out of the running for EU foreign minister, the other job created by the Lisbon treaty, according to friends. After the fading of Mr Blair, Paris and Berlin have fallen behind the idea that a Briton should take the job. Mr Miliband was the first choice but, according to Le Monde, Lord Mandelson “discreetly sounded out the Élysée Palace in order to promote his candidacy” for the post.

A spokesman for Lord Mandelson said last night that the Business Secretary had been sounded out about stepping into the breach left by Mr Miliband but denied that he had sought President Sarkozy’s backing: “It is true to say that when he was in Brussels a number of people approached him.”

The spokesman said that the canvassers were EU Commissioners and other senior figures but that Lord Mandelson was clear that “there was no option of him upping sticks and leaving now”. It was “absolute nonsense” to say that he had approached the Élysée, the spokesman said.

Speculation that Mr Miliband was secretly interested in the post was stirred by his last-minute decision to make an appearance in Berlin. He was, in fact, making the case for Mr Blair to be president, friends said.

Mr Sarkozy was the first EU leader to voice public support for Mr Blair but was reported yesterday by Le Monde praising Herman van Rompuy, the Belgian Prime Minister, as “very good”, and rejecting the suggestion of Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands. Le Monde concluded that this confirmed Mr van Rompuy as the final choice of France and Angela Merkel, of Germany — both having pledged to reach a common position.

Mr Reinfeldt has warned that the process of consulting his fellow EU leaders for names and narrowing down a shortlist was proving difficult. He told The Times that the decision would not be made by two leaders but by 27 and that he might have to resort to qualified-majority voting because there was such a divergence of views.

“I’m very close to the end of my first consultations,” he told the Financial Times last night. “After that I’ll do a second round, probably starting on Thursday this week, where I’ll start working on compromises.”

This has never been used before to decide a top EU post because of the convention that the leaders try to find consensus.

Mr Reinfeldt was faced with a demand from Poland yesterday that the shortlisted candidates undergo interviews.

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