Poland’s Donald Tusk is the new EU Council President and Italy’s Federica Mogherini is the new foreign policy chief of an increasingly variegated but still united Europe.

Just a few months ago, this reshuffle seemed impossible. This new team means that Europe’s governance has been assigned to a new generation of leaders which has arrived with a new vision and new values.

Their predecessors, Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton, appeared irreplaceable just a year ago and many Brussels-based observers predicted that the new appointees would fall into the same conservative and slightly outdated mold.

Even the constant Twitter updates of Van Romouy did not help him brush off criticism of the lack of charisma and clear statements being a major flaw of his.

What is more, the new team comes with a crystal clear political profile and Europe’s “left” and “right” will definitely make a good tandem this time.

Donald Tusk, acting Polish Prime Minister, has become the first leader of a post-Communist country to win a top EU position and this is a very good sign for all countries in our region.

A strict right-wing conservative, a follower of reformist Leszek Balcerowicz, rather than populist Lech Walesa, from now on Tusk will face the tough task of applying his knowledge in the field of modern economics on a very multi-colored and multi-faceted territory such as modern Europe.

From Greece’s financial turmoil to Spain’s unemployment and Scandinavia’s stability, from Eastern Europe’s huge differences, to France’s turbulence, the leaders will all have to listen to the advice of Tusk, and, provided that they can, apply his brilliant economic experience which helped him make Poland one of the most dynamic developing countries on the continent.

On the other hand, his right-hand person, Mogherini, comes with an all too left-wing and often emphasized pro-Russian stance, but it is quite clear that the closeness to Kremlin will only help a united Europe find more common ground with Putin.

The 40-year-old Italian national inherits Europe’s biggest political crisis for at least half a century, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has started to acquire the proportions of a direct war, taking into account that they are big countries with a prominent role in the economy and politics of the EU, be they non-Member States.

It will be up to Mogherini to a large extent to maintain the good political balance in the region, as well as to take care of the future attitude of the countries outside the EU to the bloc. Still, the election of this pretty unusual tandem, an all too right-wing President and an all too left-wing Minister, is good news for Europe.

Imagine for a moment small Bulgaria with Boyko Borisov as Prime Minister and Kristian Vigenin as Foreign Minister or Sergey Stanishev as PM and Nikolay Mladenov as foreign policy chief. These things are impossible in Bulgaria but possible in Europe and they make a good lesson.

Bulgaria will have to learn this lesson very soon, trust me.

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