diff --git a/GNUmakefile b/GNUmakefile
index c3c00e0e..de50af5f 100644
--- a/GNUmakefile
+++ b/GNUmakefile
@@ -44,11 +44,11 @@ endif
 ifeq ($(UNAME),Darwin)
 AR = libtool
 ARFLAGS = -static -o
+CXX = c++
 CXXFLAGS += -D__pic__
 IS_GCC2 = $(shell $(CXX) -v 2>&1 | grep -c gcc-932)
 ifeq ($(IS_GCC2),1)
 CXXFLAGS += -fno-coalesce-templates -fno-coalesce-static-vtables
-CXX = c++
 LDLIBS += -lstdc++
 LDFLAGS += -flat_namespace -undefined suppress -m
 endif