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Van Rompuy once called himself a 'grey mouse' (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)

'Haiku Herman' quietly leaves EU stage

EU Council chief Herman Van Rompuy on Monday (1 December) is handing over the baton to Polish ex-prime minister Donald Tusk.

It is a minimalist event: a handshake, a few words, followed by a little drink with the staff of the European Council.

Quite the opposite of European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, who held numerous farewell speeches, interviews, and self-promoting events in his last weeks in office.

But Van Rompuy, a Belgian politician little-known outside his ...

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