EU picks low-profile Belgian as leader
New EU President Herman van Rompuy, who had been serving as Belgium's caretaker prime minister, will be joined by another low-profile European, British peer Catherine Ashton, who was named Thursday the EU's foreign minister.
...
The announcement confirmed speculation that Europe, despite pressure from the U.S. government to select a high-profile leader who could help make Europe a global force, would instead choose among candidates derisively described in recent days as "dwarfs."
...
Van Rompuy, 62, is a veteran Flemish Christian Democrat politician known for scribbling Japanese poetry during meetings.
http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjourn...1-45f0ab58cb81
My local newspaper, hard copy, also added: A Belgian writer recently compared his looks to the lead character in Spielberg's 1982 blockbuster E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial... yada... yada... consensus-builder. PICS: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2242087