Getting to know Herman
Herman Van Rompuy was in London today on another lap of his tour of European capitals. He's a president. He gets a small motorcade, but he is self-effacing to the point where you could doubt he wanted to be there.
In Downing Street Gordon Brown positively bristled with authority beside him. It was the kind of occasion that the prime minister likes. The launch of an international plan, high on ambition, vague on delivery. While Gordon Brown sketched out his vision for jobs and growth in the EU, Van Rompuy looked down at his papers, his face pale. Only twice did he look across at Gordon Brown.
When it came to the new president's turn, he read from a prepared speech. His big idea, so far, is to call for an informal European economic summit on 11 February. Now when he first announced this meeting some saw it as a way of establishing himself on the European circuit. There may be an element of that, but Van Rompuy has been smart to identify that Europe's economic crisis is not going away and he has made this his priority. There are 23 million Europeans without work. Growth this year is projected to be 0.7%. He said today that growth needed to be at least 2% "in order to continue with our way of life". It is a candid acknowledgement that unless Europe changes, its standard of living will decline.
The remedy, however, is a little harder to identify. Van Rompuy wants Europe's leaders to come up with ambitious ideas to get Europe moving again. The British have weighed in with suggestions of how to create new jobs, how to unleash the creativity of small and medium- sized enterprises, how to back the innovative industries of the future. We have been there before with , which most member states paid lip service to and then ignored. We shall see whether Europe's leaders this time can adopt measures that will make a difference. Some will also see the risk that the crisis will be used as an excuse to push for greater integration.
One item on Van Rompuy's agenda is whether the EU should hold an annual economic summit. It is not an entirely new idea, but it may become a fixture in the years ahead.
The president was later asked whether weren't there too many summits and not enough action. He responded with a weak smile. He questioned the use of the word "summit". A meeting of the European Council, in his view, was not a summit. It was an informal event where leaders can meet each other five or six times a year. It was a curious distinction, suggesting he was wary of being seen as chair of summits and little else.
The conversation turned to Haiti. Van Rompuy tossed out the idea of . It was hard to tell what status this thought had. No other details were forthcoming - who would run it, who would finance it, where it would be based.
One thing is for sure: he's not a people politician. You could not imagine him on the campaign trail or delving into a crowd to meet the people who may hire him. He's a back-room worker who likes to grind out consensus away from the cameras. In Europe that can be a strength and a weakness. The union needs leaders who can connect with the voters, but it needs mediators who can grind out compromise.
These are early days for Van Rompuy, but some time down the road the questions will be asked: "What is the new president for?" "What difference has he made?" "Is the EU more effective?"
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