With the exception of the Liberal group, the main political groups of the European Parliament have all officially appointed their candidates to take over from German Social Democrat Martin Schulz, in the elections to be held on Tuesday, 17 January 2017 in Strasbourg, at the next plenary session.
The last to declare, the Greens/EFA group, chose Jean Lambert of the UK, who was up against Germany's Rebecca Harms, at an extraordinary meeting on Thursday 15 December. This decision came as a surprise to more than one person within the political family. The co-president of the group, Philippe Lamberts of Belgium, announced on Tuesday that the Greens/EFA did not intend to put a candidate forward (see EUROPE 11688). The Greens finally decided to throw their hat into the ring, in order to bring more women into the race.
On Tuesday, the EPP group selected a man, Antonio Tajani of Italy, who won out over Ireland's Mariead McGuinness (see EUROPE 11689). Some observers see the decision in favour of an MEP from southern Europe as an olive branch to the Social Democrats, whose largest delegation is the Italian one, in particular following the call for unity made last week by the President of the EPP group, Manfred Weber of Germany.
The President of the ALDE group, Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium, has not yet officially declared, but he is the person his political family wishes to put forward. French Liberal Sylvie Goulard, who wanted a debate within the group, learned this at her cost. According to several sources, the former Belgian Prime Minister, a controversial figure even within his own group, will only make his candidacy official if he is sure of being elected. However, as the Liberals are only the fourth-largest political formation in Parliament, he would have to secure the support of groups able to back him with a greater number of votes.
On Thursday, Verhofstadt received the backing of the Luxembourg Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, and of the President of the ALDE party, Hans van Baalen of the Netherlands. "The European Parliament is an honourable institution that deserves to be headed by someone who combines vision with extensive experience and the ability to build bridges across political divides. With Guy Verhofstadt, we have an excellent candidate who has these qualities", the two men said following the meeting of the Liberal leaders which preceded the European Council.
The S&D group, the second-largest in Parliament, has selected its President, Gianni Pittella of Italy, to run, thereby breaking with the informal prior agreement reached by the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats at the start of the legislative period that the two largest groups of the EP would share the Presidency. In the medium term, this decision may make itself felt in inter-group negotiations on sensitive legal dossiers.
Lastly, Belgium's Helga Stevens will defend the colours of the Eurosceptic ECR group. Eleonora Forenza of Italy is the candidate of the GUE/NGL group. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Pascal Hansens)