Captain Van Rompuy to the rescue

"Europe is calling," exults La Libre Belgique. "Van Rompuy, favourite for EU Presidency," trumpets De Morgen. In Belgium, headlines in both the French and Flemish papers laud the extraordinary rise of Prime Minister Van Rompuy, the new "hot" tip in the race for the post of EU President. "There is a consensus about his name, which is very unusual among the 27 member states," muses Le Soir, which explains that the Flemish Christian-democrat is a man of compromise and thus ideally suited for the new top job. But joy at Europygmy Van Rompuy's ascension is necessarily tempered by the sobering realisation that the EU's gain may be Belgium's loss, for he has "clearly played a role in stabilising" his troubled country. When it appeared unable to traverse an unprecedented political and institutional crisis, Belgium found him to be an able "captain." That is why "any move to nominate him for the prestigious post of EU President clearly goes against Belgian good sense and Belgium's interests," concludes La Libre Belgique.