Sound The Trumpet : A President for Europe? Continent Hoped for Tough Leader But Now is Thinking Smaller

Must Listen

Must Read

What Art Thinks

Pre-Millennialism

Today's Headlines

Sorry... Not Available

Locally Contributed...

Audio

Video

Special Interest

Daily News

8588

“A President for Europe? Continent Hoped for Tough Leader But Now is Thinking Smaller”
by AP - ANGELA CHARLTON
November 16th, 2009

PARIS - The European Union has battled long and hard for this moment: the imminent choice of its first president.

To get there, the EU strong-armed Irish voters, brushed aside hostile French and Dutch ballots, and pressured the Czech president into agreeing to a single leader to give Europe a strong voice on the world stage.

Yet after all that, EU leaders meeting Thursday may end up picking someone from a small country with little international power instead of a charismatic heavyweight to head this continental bloc of 27 nations, half a billion people and huge economic heft.

To pick a boss they can all live with, they must strike the right balance between big countries and small, east and west, socialists and conservatives, perhaps male and female. They must maneuver between proponents of a strong Europe and those who fear it — eurocentrics and euroskeptics, in the local parlance.

It's a diplomatic minefield.

The decision will help define Europe's future, the climax of a decade of agonized contortions and oft-thwarted efforts to make the EU about more than money and markets and common rules about what bananas Europeans can buy.

"The time has come to have a personality who will make an imprint ... a European mark" on world affairs from Iran's nuclear program to relations with Russia, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said last week.

"We should have weight in the world; we are 500 million people," he said. "We should participate in world events and not just finance them."

The early favorite was Britain's former prime minister, Tony Blair, but his candidacy has run into trouble. He cuts a big figure on the world stage — perhaps too big for the liking of other powerful figures such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Art's Commentary.....Daniel in speaking about the rise of Antichrist said, "...he shall come up, and become strong with a small people." Daniel 11:23 Today the EU are talking about a super president who will come out of a small country.

Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13