Eurocrats disconnected from reality

I'm not sure if the Euro's difficulties will stop anyone until the wheels fall off completely. It was just announced that Estonia's entrance into the Eurozone has been approved. Maybe no one in Brussels reads papers printed outside of Brussels, but at best, this seems to be a case of poor timing.

I had a colleague last year who was a wonderful guy, but politically, you could tell that he had spent too much time hanging around the hallowed halls of the EU's eurocratic elite. I remember when he jumped for joy at the announcement that Europe would have yet another President, a Belgian by the name of Herman van Rompoy. HVR is not the kind of person to get excited about; in fact, I'm pretty sure Herman van Rompoy is not very excited about being Herman van Rompoy. This may seem like a below the belt ad hominem attack, but I do have quantifiable proof.

1. He was the 49th Prime Minister of Belgium and was in office just short of one year.

2. He published a book of Haiku.

These two bits of information that are no doubt featured prominently in his CV point to a decidedly unsexy man who has all the appeal of a 3 hour long documentary on dust mites in Esperanto.

Funnily enough, if you type Herman van Rompoy into google, you get quite a few suggestions such as "666", "antichrist", and "New World Order." Wow. I had no idea that Haiku was so unpopular. Maybe this is just hate from diehard limerick aficionados. On that note, in an attempt to reach Brussels in a language they truly understand, here is a little Haiku on current events...

*ahem*

"Birthplace of the vote,

Ouzo, toga, huge bailout

Sovereign debtor"