The Lisbon Treaty appears to be on the cusp of final ratification, and with it Brussels will gain something it has long sought—a President of the European Union. That in turn may finally answer Henry Kissinger's famous question about what number to call to reach "Europe."

But this only raises a second question: When that president calls other world leaders, will they pick up the phone? Probably not, if Europe's most ardent federalists get their way. Apparently afraid of the shadow they have worked so long to cast, EU stalwarts like the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg fear that the appointment of a genuine political heavyweight might not be in their interests after all.

Instead, Europe's Lilliputs are pushing to fill the job with one of their own. Consider...