Former Polish premier Jerzy Buzek was elected president of the European Parliament, becoming the first deputy from the ex-communist east to preside over the assembly.
I see Buzek as an ideal source of inspiration for all EU leaders.
He is a centre-rightist conservative, but he has still got the vision.
And he can bravely defend his farsighted vision even by challenging his own party.
His group, Christian Democrats, may still oppose Turkey's EU membership. For Buzek, it doesn't really matter. "I was an advocate of Turkey in my group. As a Polish citizen, I support the enlargement of the EU and Ankara's bid," he had said last week.
Some cheap populists, like Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, should analyze the rise of Buzek, appreciating that a sane enlargement policy is possible even in the face of the popular reactionism.
Yes, Buzek's ID tells that he is older than Merkel and Sarkozy; but in grasping the political future of Europe in such fashion, he has proven that his mind is much younger than these two.
He is kind of a European Ron Paul.
