A Belgian for president of the EU
Europe woke up this morning knowing the name of its first permanent president. Herman Van Rumpuy, prime minister of Belgium, is the man appointed for the post.
Well regarded within Belgium due to its result in handling their internal crisis, Van Rumpuy will now have to challenge those voices that describe him as a low-profile politician.
Van Rumpuy faces a diffucult challange to prove he is more than an "eurocrat".
Europe’s conflict of interests, together with the need of a politically correct gender election, resulted yesterday in the designation of two internationally unknown figures for the new top posts of the UE. Herman Van Rumpuy and Baroness Catherine Ashton, British Trade Commissioner for Europe, were voted as Permanent President of the European Council and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The conflict comes from Gordon Brown’s support for the candidature of Tony Blair, while in the other hand Germany and France backed Van Rumpuy. He finally gave away the president position in exchange of the foreign affairs one. The equalitarian voices within the camera pushed forward the election of a woman for this post.
The right candidate?
Belgium prime minister is regarded in his country as a unifying force, a person who brought stability to the Dutch and French speaking sides. So he could use this experience with the integration conflicts that Europe suffers and will suffer. But in the other hand his lack of international reputation could result in some struggle to command attention when travelling abroad.
Sarkozy and Merkel have been the principal instigators for Van Rompuy's candidature
What is next for Belgium
Belgians will have to do without their president, whom will start his duty on January the 1st. Their emotions are contradictory; a mixture of national proud and political uncertainty sweeps the country. The first action is to find a substitute, one that will follows Van Rumpuy’s steps. The politicians don’t want to reopen the coalition pact, the main priority is stability. Two possible options are the former Prime minister, Yves Leterme, or the Finance minister, Didier Reynders.
Sources:
The Wall Street Journal
The New York Times
BBC World News
Flanders Today
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