Graham Watson is right to feel pleased. He has lost a few MEPs in a Parliament where the total number of MEPs has fallen, but today he is centre stage. Between the Right (EPP) and the Left (Greens/EFA, PES, GUE/NGL) which could cancel one another out, he might appear to be the “king-maker”, as a press release from his group pointed out this week. If he plays his cards right, he could have real influence on the raft of appointments to be made before the end of the year. Can he have any great hope, however, of affecting the political content of the new Parliament? Without doubt that is what he was thinking about when, last Sunday, he called for political agreement. The path is littered with obstacles and the likely decision to delay the appointment of the next President of the European Commission until October leaves the way free for the usual trade-offs and a new technical agreement between the PES and the EPP. More than ever, a cool head must be kept and it is imperative not to lose sight of the European interest - some in his group, from Andrew Duff to the newcomer Sylvie Goulard, being among its most fervent supporters. Other Liberals before him have made excellent presidents of the Parliament without really managing to take forward the cause of building Europe. (O.J.)