Unfortunately, van Rompuy, an author and poet, has spoken out against Turkish membership in far cruder terms than one would expect from a gentle haiku writer.

David Stevenson, Professor of International History at the London School of Economics, describes him as earning opprobrium as one of the most callous and incompetent of First World War commanders.

On my arrival in his office, a senior Kyl staffer, after consulting the senator, said brusquely We only agreed to talk to the Japanese, not you.

Particularly egregious from the point of view of Davos was the recent refusal by Congress to approve the reform and refunding of the International Monetary Fund, even though a plan that added no significant burden to the American taxpayer had been agreed years earlier by the G 20 under Obama s leadership.