An odd couple at the EU's helm

The EU ship could have a hard time with two such contrasting politicians as Herman Van Rompuy and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero at its helm, the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera writes: "Herman Van Rompuy is ultra-Catholic, leader of the Christian Democrats, retires once or twice a year to a Belgian monastery, and prayed publicly at the side of King Albert II when he was prime minister. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is ultra-secular, leader of the Socialists, Spanish premier and the protagonist of diverse duels with the bishops of his country. The only time he enters a monastery is as a tourist and he has never been seen to pray at the side of King Juan Carlos. … They will be in good company, because the bridge of the ship is likely to be overcrowded. It must also accommodate the Portuguese politician and representative of the conservative EPP, EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso, and the British Labour baroness Catherine Ashton as EU foreign minister. In Brussels people are wondering how so many people can steer such a large vessel - and through such rough seas at that."

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