Herman Van Rompuy, one year EU President

A year ago the Belgian Christian-democrat Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, was appointed the first President of the European Council by the European heads of states and governments. It was a brand new post that Van Rompuy had to interpret on his own, which in itself was a gigantic challenge.

Herman Van Rompuy assumed his role on the world stage when, without having explicitly aimed for the post, he suddenly became the very first President of the European Council. During the race that preceded his appointment, veto after veto was issued - Tony Blair, Jan-Peter Balkenende and Jean-Claude Juncker all fell out of the running due to past clashes with other leaders. But Van Rompuy was not vetoed, as his limited international presence in the past created few opportunities to make enemies. This also meant that his new job would be a huge challenge, given that he could only list a handful of meetings with national leaders. As a former budget minister, Van Rompuy was however aware of the European rules for deficits and national debt. On top of this there was the fact that he had no script to work from, due to the fact that he had no predecessors, and he was required to explore all corridors himself.

He was granted precious little study time. In the beginning of his Presidency Van Rompuy appeared to be more of a fireman rather than a president. The Greek debt crisis exploded while he was still trying to settle into his office. As a former budget minister he felt very comfortable with this issue and in an improvised way he did just what was expected of him. It might have taken some time for him to become accustomed to his presidential status, but this did him no harm.

Then he also fulfils a political role as General Secretary to the member states. The leaders of the member states determine the policy objectives of EU politics by consensus, and it is the task of Van Rompuy to sound out and formulate that consensus. A Secretary has power. He is versed in all the standpoints and consequently has much information at his disposal while he actively focuses on finding compromises. But it remains difficult to say whether Van Rompuy actually uses those powers. Would the results of the European Council this year have looked any different if Blair or Juncker had assumed the top chair? That is the question.

Aside from the president’s ceremonial and political role, he is also expected to be the face of Europe. He is the person who has to explain European decisions to the rest of the world. His addresses are much more intelligently constructed than those of the President of the European Commission Barroso – enthralling political scientists and allowing them to cheer each other in interpreting his words. Van Rompuy has a good relationship with the Brussels correspondents from the major European newspapers, the average European rarely picks up The Economist, Le Monde or the Financial Times.

The popular glossies have hardly any interest Van Rompuy – he did not abandon his wife to shack up with a famous singer and has no illegitimate offspring, as far as we are aware. He does not host bunga-bunga orgies and is not spotted in the company of underage prostitutes. But of course it does not have to reach these levels. Reaching a wider audience does not necessarily mean having to lose one’s sound reputation. The European Union, which is now widely considered to be an anonymous club of bureaucrats and rotten lobbyists, has a spectacular image problem, and an exciting President could engender interest for the way in which the Union works. Van Rompuy still has his work cut out for him when it comes to reaching the European in the street.

Herman Van Rompuy passed his first presidential year. In difficult times he did what was expected of him, even though it required non-stop improvisation. He didn’t mess anything up and he is respected by the Europe-watchers. Now he just has to reach the public at large.