The new man from the east

Donald Tusk's predecessor, Herman Van Rompuy, was an extremely cautious Council president. Immediately upon taking office, he said his own opinion did not count.

Van Rompuy's primary main task was producing consensus among Europe's member states. Hs self-denial was sometimes borderline masochistic.

Never to be forgotten was the uncomfortable scene in European Parliament when Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, mocked Van Rompuy for having "the charisma of a wet rag and the appearance of a small bank employee."

Van Rompuy squirmed in his chair, rolled his eyes, but endured the tirade. It was not a pretty sight.

Belgium's consensus curators

Van Rompuy was the first permanent president of the European Council. The president directs, for example, the EU summit and represents the Union externally. Prior to 2009, the European heads of state and government had alternated holding the presidential seat. In comparison to self-promoters like Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac, Herman Van Rompuy was somewhat of a plain Jane. His "flaw," however, was more the fact that he came from Belgium - a "non-country," as Nigel Farage mocked in the same nasty speech, referring to the Flemish-Walloon disunity.

But his Belgian origin and his unobtrusiveness proved, to a certain extent, to be the foundations of his relative success. In Belgium, which has become a state of compromise, he learned how to find consensus and discovered that self-profiling is more of a hindrance. His persistent efforts to reach joint decisions proved to be successful, particularly during the financial crisis.

No one should parade the heads of state

The heads of state and government also desired a rather inconspicuous Council president.

Initially, Tony Blair had been thrown into the ring. Had he been given the opportunity, he could have given the EU a much stronger international profile. But that would have been at the expense of the other state leaders, which they did not want. The alternative, therefore, was someone like Herman Van Rompuy.

As a consensus machine, negotiator and puppet master, the leaders seemed to be satisfied with him. Had the opinion been otherwise, they wouldn't have re-elected him after his first two-and-a-half-year term in office. If the EU, during his second term of office, held together on the important issues, then it was ultimately due to Van Rompuy's toils - work he did not receive praise for. And if the Union did not always speak with a single voice, it was not his fault.

Less modesty

Donald Tusk seemed to be the right successor. So far he appears to have some of Van Rompuy's strengths, but also compensates for his weaknesses. Tusk is unlikely to be quite as satisfied with the humble role that the Belgian took upon himself. This will be good for the EU. Unfortunately, the union of 28 countries and 500 million people isn't as big a player on the world stage as it really should be. This also is also due to the EU's top representatives. Herman Van Rompuy could do nothing.

At some international meetings, he was simply overlooked, purely because he did not want to stand in the foreground, despite formally being the chief representative of the EU.

Sometimes it's possible to take humility too far - something which should change with Donald Tusk. It will be in Tusk's favor that, for several years, he was the prime minister of Poland and has many diverse political contacts.

Experience with Russia

As an eastern European, it will be interesting to see how Tusk's completely different perspective on the EU will affect current affairs - particularly with regard to confronting Russia. Poland is somewhat closer to Russia and has suffered from both Russia and the Soviet Union.

During the Ukraine crisis, Tusk, as Poland's prime minister, sent Russia much harsher warnings than other western European leaders. As EU president, however, he must not be guided solely by his background, but instead must bring together all opinions. This new viewpoint bodes well for the EU, which, politically, still has a strong Western European prevalence.

Tusk could also breathe new life into economic policy. Throughout the economic crisis, he led his country well with wise reforms and without an aid package. The example could benefit countries such as France and Italy, which, instead of making changes, always call immediately for European cash.

He should probably keep to himself, however, the fact that Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan are among his liberal economic models, as it could cause unnecessary divisions.

Farewell to the haiku president

But Donald Tusk is no ideologue, neither in economic policy nor when dealing with Russia.

Instead he is a pragmatist. Ideologues are out of place in the EU president's office.

Although he speaks good German and Russian, he also still has to work on his English. Despite the Germans being happy - and his Russian no doubt being useful for resolving the Ukraine crisis - without English he was little hope on the European and particularly the international stage. The French-speaking part of the EU will probably have to largely forgo its language for Tusk's Polish.

The EU was somewhat spoiled by Herman Van Rompuy, who fluently speaks French, English and Dutch, as well as a little German.

Another thing that will be missing from long summit nights will be Van Rompuy's self-composed haiku poems. But for those who missed them, fear not: You can still buy his haiku collection as a book.