The only candidate in the running, Belgian liberal Rik Daems (Open VLD) was appointed President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Monday 27 January. He thus takes over for 2 years from the Swiss socialist Liliane Maury Pasquier, to whom he paid tribute.
A PACE member since 2007, Mr Daems has already announced that he would be “a full-time President”. He added that, “I want to go to each of the 47 member states, talk to national parliamentarians,...