There is a hoary parlour game that dwells on the supposed paucity of famous Belgians. It thereby retails a falsehood as well as a cliché. Since its founding in 1830, Belgium has produced notable figures in diplomacy, culture and other fields. Its statesmen, moreover, are experienced in dealing with one of the dominant issues of global politics: maintaining the unity of a society riven by communal and linguistic rivalries.

A Belgian prime minister ought thus to be well equipped to become president of the European Council, representing the 27 EU member states. But Herman Van Rompuy, who has quickly emerged as the favourite for the job, gives scant sign of being suitable for it. His qualifications are obscure beyond having the support of President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel. His anonymity is such that the disinterested observer even becomes enthusiastic for the alternative candidature of Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch Prime Minister. EU leaders should think again and choose Mr Balkenende.

The problem is that there is no precedent for a president. The post has been created under the Treaty of Lisbon, but the treaty is vague on the president’s responsibilities. In any new role, the personality of the officeholder will determine the profile of the office. This is a post, moreover, that has been created by a treaty that few European citizens have voted for. Owing to that lack of democratic legitimacy, the president of the European Council ought to be an effective chairman and figurehead rather than a policymaker.

That is the appeal of Mr Van Rompuy. He will not overshadow the political leaders of the main EU states. But his record contains little to suggest any more pressing attribute. He does not excite strong feelings and is largely unrecognised outside Belgium. If the EU is to have an administrative more than an executive president, then some visible accomplishment in the arts of diplomacy would inspire confidence.

Yet Mr Van Rompuy lacks that experience. His attainments are geared to the politics of Belgium. A member of the centre-right Christian Democrats, Mr Van Rompuy exemplifies the principle of moderate conservatism. Nowhere is this more evident than in his approach to fiscal policy. He served as a quietly efficient Economics Minister in the 1990s, cutting the budget deficit and thereby securing Belgium’s position as a member of the euro zone.

In his 11 months as Prime Minister, Mr Van Rompuy has held together a five-party governing coalition. In a country whose politics are bedevilled by tensions between the predominantly French-speaking Walloons and Flemish-speaking Flamands, that record evinces Mr Van Rompuy’s skills as a mediator. He became Prime Minister, amid political instability: his predecessor, embroiled in a scandal over a bank rescue, resigned after nine months. Mr Van Rompuy has given solidity to a fragile Government.

This is not a negligible record, but it is a parochial one. Even an international civil servant — say, Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees — is aided by an international reputation. Mr Van Rompuy lacks one.

Mr Van Rompuy has proposed new environmental and financial taxes to fund the EU. That would cut across the principle that national governments retain control of fiscal policy. And as serious as the demerits of Mr Van Rompuy’s proposals was the venue at which he reportedly advanced them: a dinner held under the auspices of the Bilderberg group. That organisation is a perennial target of crank conspiracy theorists, whose views are ridiculous. But it is significant that Mr Van Rompuy made an important proposal at a private rather than a public forum. It is a bad augury for a flawed candidature.