In praise of the “Van Rompuy attitude”

"There is nothing wrong with Belgium," announces Herman Van Rompuy on the front page of Le Soir. In the country which has been without a government since the general election six months ago, the daily remarks that "weeks of negotiations, tensions, hopes and disappointments" have failed to bear fruit, and proposes a solution: the widespread adoption of the "Van Rompuy attitude." Unlike other leading figures in Belgian politics, the President of the European Council tends to restrict his public statements to a "few words, which are worth their weight in gold." He was also one of the key players that enabled Belgium to make a success of its EU presidency, which turned out to be better than expected. "The Belgian political crisis was good news for Europe!" notes Le Soir. With national politics restricted to the management of ongoing matters, Yves Leterme’s outgoing government was able to devote itself to European issues "and to get through a lot of work in just six months."