does europe need more haikus?

a big question is facing eu heads of state tomorrow: who should be the first-ever, long-term president of the eu?

this question could also be rephrased as: does europe need more haikus?

belgium’s prime minister, herman van rompuy, a man with a love for writing haikus, has replaced tony blair as the frontrunner for the new historic presidency, which will be decided on tomorrow night at a special eu summit held here in brussels.

however, getting the 27 member states’ leaders to agree on who should fill the coveted post could take more time than simply having a few glasses of wine over a long dinner meeting, which is currently the plan. oh europe…  i’d also like to think most things can be solved over a few glasses of wine, but this situation is a bit more complicated and could require some sobering deliberation. in fact, my boss literally told me to “bring a sleeping bag” to the council building tomorrow night. we’re in it for the long haul.

so, will the belgian prime minister, who is a skinny, red-faced, wry-witted, intellectual-looking poet, beat out a charismatic former world leader who even had an artistic rat named after him? we’ll find out tomorrow night – or maybe later.