Former Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga's outside endorsements showcase her appeal outside the small Baltic state.

RIGA — Even though most analysts consider her a long shot, former Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga is finding unexpected support outside her native country.

An unidentified European support group has created a website, registered in France by David Juni, and also a Facebook profile to promote Vīķe-Freiberga as the best choice for the new post of EU president. Meanwhile the leading Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter wrote an editorial Thursday in support of Vīķe-Freiberga.

The website “A woman to head Europa” is available in three languages: English, French and German. The front page states that President of the European Council absolutely should be a woman, because women are currently underrepresented in high-level European positions. And Vīķe-Freiberga is just the right woman for the post coming from a new EU country but with international experience and the ability to speak five languages fluently.

Further on the site one can read that EU president should be someone with high moral requirements and major intellectual powers.

“He or she must not be engaged in political battles but is aware however how tough these can be; he or she must not complicate the tasks of the various European institutions (Council, Commission, Parliament) and must have demonstrated major capacity for political discretion allying both European commitment and the realism of pragmatism,” the campaign makers argue. And the conclusion is that with these criteria in mind, Vīķe-Freiberga is the right choice.

The website contains also a photo gallery and Vīķe-Freiberga’s biography. Visitors can sign a petition in support of her candidacy. There were over 2,500 signatures Friday.

The Dagens Nyheter endorsement was a direct appeal to the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, since Sweden holds the EU presidency. The paper thinks that the new post should be taken by a woman and argues Vīķe-Freiberga, with her work against corruption in Latvia, has all the necessary qualities to lead EU. The editorial mentions some arguments against her candidacy: her support to Bush and Iraq war, that Latvia is not a member of eurozone, that Russia would dislike her, and finally that she grew up in Canada, which according to some disqualifies her as not European enough. But the Dagens Nyheter editorial team dismisses this criticism as irrelevant because support to Iraq war would disqualify many other candidates as well, the president should represent all EU countries and not just those with the euro currency, and Russia cannot have a veto right in EU matters.

Latvia’s Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis reiterated his support to Vīķe-Freiberga on LNT television morning show Wednesday. According to Dombrovskis, she is a strong candidate because she is a well-known politician and also very European as a person.