Is it not a bit sexist for the Europeans to insist on a female candidate? Surely the two best qualified contenders should be nominated regardless of gender, if any. The whole idea that a cute arse or a pretty face should be deemed a qualification for what should be akin to a senior executive role is, frankly, an insult to women and could mark the start of a very slippery slope. How long will it be before we're obliged to nominate a lesbian, a poof, a female by accident of birth gender fluid, a male by accident of birth gender fluid, a normal woman and, at the bottom of the list, the best qualified candidate i.e. a normal man.