Europe Picks President and Foreign Spokeswoman

Henry Kissinger used to say "I want to talk to Europe. Whom do I call?" Starting in a week, there will be an actual answer to that question. Under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty that enters into force December 1, the European Union gets a full-time president now along with a full time high representative for foreign policy. And who are the new Euro-big shots? Herman van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton. These two relative unknowns got their jobs because the governments of Europe don't want to create figures in Brussels they can't control.

There had been talk of giving the president's job to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. His application fell on two different grounds, though. First, most European leaders are still miffed with his support of Mr. Bush's war in Iraq-Nam. Second, Mr, Blair is charismatic enough to turn the presidency into a job that doesn't depend on the goodwill of member states.

So, the first president of the EU is Herman van Rompuy. He is a very important man, having been Belgian prime minister for almost a year. He is rather well-regarded in his home country, where the various political factions can't seem to agree on the color of orange juice. The fact that he kept French and Flemish speakers from each others' throats for months on end seems to make him an ideal referee on all things Europe.

As for the high representative for foreign affairs, Baroness Ashton has had an interesting career. She managed to climb ever higher in Mr. Blair's New Labour without actually ever being elected to office. Appointed a life-peer in 1999, she wound up as Leader of the House of Lords. Currently, she is Commissioner for Trade in the European Commission. Quite how this qualifies her to pronounce on EU relations with Paraguay, Madagascar and Mongolia is rather hard to say, but then, who is qualified for such an odd portfolio? If Europe had uniform interests, there would already be a European foreign policy.

One wishes the pair well in their new posts. After all, only a Rush Limbaugh meanness would make anyone want a politician to fail in office. However, one ought to grade them rather easily. London, Paris and Berlin call the shots still. Europe is not now and probably never will be a federal state but rather what De Gaulle describes as "L'Europe des patries." And so, it drafted two people suited to presiding rather than leading.

© Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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