Institutional fisticuffs

Well that did not take long, did it? MEPs spent months and months carefully constructing a house of cards. Extrapolating treaty text. Reading between the lines. Acting in the spirit, rather than the letter.

And along came EU leaders and blew the whole thing down with one dismissive puff.

They "took note" of what the EU parliament said about letting Jean-Claude Juncker start trying to put together majority support to get the post of European Commission president.

Then, after...