The E.U.’s New Top Leaders « almost 2 years ago

Bland Leading the Bland

By LEO CENDROWICZ / BRUSSELS | Thursday- Nov. 19, 2009

Newly appointed European Union President Herman Van Rompuy, left, poses with the newly appointed E.U.’s new foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, right, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, second right, and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009.

Remy de la Mauviniere / AP

Until Herman Van Rompuy became Belgium’s Prime Minister 11 months ago, he was barely known even in his home country. But on Thursday night, the self-effacing former economist, whose hobbies include caravanning and writing haiku, was named the European Union’s first permanent President.

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Similarly, until she was appointed Britain’s European Commissioner last year, only hardened London politicos were familiar with Baroness Catherine Ashton’s name. But she is now the E.U.’s Foreign Minister-designate, with the unwieldy title of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.(See the 10 greatest speeches of all time.)

The duo may yet become household names, but today, most Europeans will be scratching their heads at the decision by the E.U.’s 27 leaders to anoint Van Rompuy and Ashton to the organization’s top two jobs. After all, the positions, which were created by the E.U.’s newly ratified Lisbon Treaty, were supposed to give a voice and a face to Europe on the world stage.

The choice prompted accusations that the E.U. had gone for the lowest common denominator. Van Rompuy was “bland” and Aston “unremarkable,” said Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a German Member of the European Parliament who heads the Green group in that body. “E.U. leaders have continued the job of weakening the E.U. institutions,” he said. “Europe is sinking to a low.”

Van Rompuy recognized that the wider European public sees him as an unknown quantity, and he addressed it head-on after the summit. “There has been a great deal of talk and comment about the future profile and image of the President of the Council,” he said. “But the key things are dialogue, unity and action: the image of the Council resides in strength through results.”

Van Rompuy’s career has been mainly that of a behind-the-scenes fixer in Belgian politics. And he emphasized that his position was not that of chief executive but, as President of the European Council, the body that gathers the E.U.’s leaders for summits, he is more of a chairman, whose role is to mediate across the E.U. “My personal opinion is totally subservient to the Council,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what I think. My role is to find a consensus.”

Indeed, his shunning of the limelight is probably what landed him the job. Although he is recognized in Belgium for defusing tensions between the country’s Flemish and French speakers — a quality that could come in handy with the 27-member E.U. — his low profile appears to have endeared him to his initial sponsors, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The two leaders are thought to have balked at a big name like former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as E.U. President, because they feared he could become a strong rival for the spotlight. Van Rompuy, by contrast, might have lightweight political credentials, but he was seen as the least aggressive candidate.

There was more to the choice of Van Rompuy and Ashton than their individual qualities. In the classic European tradition of horse-trading, the E.U. tried to balance out the top jobs according to political background, geography and gender. Indeed, the Lisbon Treaty states that the two jobs — and that of the European Commission President — have to take account of “the geographical and demographic diversity of the Union.”

Van Rompuy is a Christian Democrat, from the family of center-right parties that dominate European governments and the European Parliament. The President of the Commission, Portugal’s José Manuel Barroso, is also from the center right. Ashton was a dark horse, but she was seen as a consolation prize for Britain’s center-left Prime Minister Gordon Brown, after his attempt to secure the presidency for Blair was rebuffed. For E.U. leaders struggling to meet the criteria — a task that one official likened to “three-dimensional chess” — they could at least claim that the Van Rompuy-Ashton duo hit most of their buttons.

But Ashton roundly rejected claims that she had been catapulted from obscurity to meet the E.U.’s demands for a token, center-left woman. “Am I an ego on legs? No, I’m not,” she said. “Judge me on what I do, and I think you’ll be proud of me.”

Nonetheless, the choice of Van Rompuy and Ashton was seen as exposing the gap between the E.U.’s ambition and its grandiose rhetoric. “They might both be very capable, but neither has any sort of international profile or experience,” says Marco Incerti, Head of Communications at the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS), a Brussels-based think tank. “At the moment, it looks like two nobodies. But this is what comes of trying to please everyone when you choose these jobs.”

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Travel Tuesday: Bhutan « Global Reservation Network

Monastery in Bhutan

The rugged mountain-country of Bhutan is nestled in the Himalayas, between India and China. This largely vegetarian country is known for eating chili peppers (called ema) and rice in abundance.

Photo courtesy of the CIA World Factbook

Just reading about their food made me break into a sweat. They actually treat the chili pepper as a vegetable, instead of a minor spice component to a larger dish. In other words, in many cases, the chili pepper is the meal.

To a Bhutanese, however, ema (chilli) enjoys an exalted culinary position. It isn’t just a food or a fad. It is the stuff of life. It is integral Bhutanese heritage and culture.

It’s not just the vegetable; it’s the taste. A bowl of black dhal or a cauliflower sabzi in a diner in India is likely to contain some chillies, and would be considered very hot by most people there. But that, as every Bhutanese who has studied in India would vouch, is piddling compared with the blistering fury of a highland Bhutanese chilli. But it is not raw heat that makes Bhutanese chillies distinctive. It is their incomparable sharp flavour, which some describe as succulent and earthy, with a clarity that seems to reflect the taste and smell of the skies and landscapes of Bhutan.

Bhutanese eat chilli raw or cooked, minced or roasted, but no Bhutanese dish is complete without ema. And young toddlers are initiated in the art of chilli eating early on. Parents pick meat or vegetables from the chilli dish, suck it to moderate the heat, and then feed their child, who breaks into a sweat but quickly adapts.

– Ema:The fiery Bhutanese food (by Wangdi and Yeshi)

I smiled when I read the last paragraph because this is exactly how we share spicy food with Ava. I often feel like a mamma bird and, although many people probably find the habit revolting, I believe this is the simplest way to give her a variety of food that does not include bland “baby food.” I’ve often wondered if there was a better way, but am glad to learn the the technique is the same in countries like Bhutan with incredibly spicy food.

The most interesting recipe I found for chilies is from Choden’s book Chilli and Cheese. She tells the story of her father filling green chilies with butter and salt, then grilling them on skewers until tender. I find such straightforward cooking appealing because, in simplicity are pure flavors celebrated.

The most common recipe with chilies is the screaming hot Ema Datshi, the national dish. This cheesy, chili infested sauce is considered a vegetable curry that makes a complete meal with red or white rice (or, in central Bhutan, buckwheat noodles or pancakes). According to an interview with a local chef by the BBC, real Ema Dhatsi is made with just two ingredients: equal parts cheese and chili peppers. Other ingredients, such as tomatoes, onions, and cauliflower, can be added to reduce the heat (but this is usually only done for foreigners).

The curry in Bhutan is called “white” because they do not include yellow spices, like turmeric. For non-vegetarians, meats are also served in curries, often with radish or mushroom. Popular meat in Bhutan includes beef, pork, and yak (yak is also used for cheese), although chicken and fish are also consumed.

For dessert Bhutanese usually cool things off with fresh fruit such as watermelon and mango. This is sweet relief after a blazing hot meal. They also enjoy tea, especially suja, or “butter tea,” a salty mixture of black tea, butter (traditionally yak butter), and milk. In the capital, cakes, eclairs and cream puffs are becoming popular.

Photo courtesy of the CIA World Factbook

via Travel Tuesday: Bhutan « Global Reservation Network.