Italian national Antonio Tajani, the EPP Group candidate, was elected president of the European Parliament at around 9.00pm on Tuesday 17 January, in Strasbourg. He will serve as president during the second half (two and a half years) of the current Parliament’s mandate.
Tajani was elected at the fourth and final round of voting, with 351 votes compared with 282 for his rival Gianni Pittella, a fellow Italian from the Social Democrats. There were abstentions from 80 MEPs. Four rounds of voting were thus needed to appoint the successor to Martin Schulz (S&D) as president of this five-year parliament.
Owing to the break up of the Grand Coalition (EPP, S&D and ALDE), which until now had prevailed on sharing the presidency, this presidential election remained long undecided. The EPP/ALDE agreement to reform the EU was a turning point (see other articles), as was the ECR Group rallying behind the EPP runner.
Schulz has already ceded his presidential seat to Tajani, who was given an ovation after the results of the vote. The new president of the Parliament hailed a “democratic” election and promised to be the president of all MEPs. He dedicated his victory to the victims of the earthquake that struck his country. He paid tribute to the victims of terrorism and to those who suffer, like the homeless and unemployed. “I will keep all my promises and I will ask for the support of all MEPs”, he said. Tajani will preside over the elections of the Parliament’s vice-presidents on Wednesday 18 January.
During his statement before the first round of the voting on Tuesday morning, Tajani had said he believed in Europe, but he underlined that there was a need “to change things”. He argued for a “strong” Parliament and a “good” president working in the common interest. He flagged up his hopes of coming closer to a Europe of the citizens, thanks to a more democratic EU. He will not have a personal programme but a programme supported by the European Parliament, in agreement with the Commission and Council (upholding the inter-institutional agreement). Among the priorities, he mentioned the fight against terrorism, management of the migration crisis, the fight against climate change, and the digital agenda.
As regards Brexit, he said it will be important to defend the rights of the EU, while knowing that in the future the UK will be a leading interlocutor for the EU. At the end of the election, he reaffirmed his confidence in Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, Belgium) as the European Parliament’s Brexit negotiator. Pittella congratulated his competitor and said he was sure “that he will interpret his new role in full respect of equal rights and the prerogatives of all the groups and MEPs”. It is a long time since the president of the European Parliament has been elected in a ballot that was “totally transparent and open, without any prior agreement”, Pittella stated. The ECR Group also hailed Tajani’s election, saying in the end it was happy with the clear assurances that Tajani would act as a neutral voice for the Parliament and not as a prime minister.
Tajani, Pittella and Stevens in lead after first round. No candidate had carried the absolute majority (342 votes) of votes cast at the first round of the European Parliament president elections on Tuesday morning (9.30am). The first round of the voting produced the following results: Antonio Tajani (EPP, Italy): 274 votes; Gianni Pittella (S&D, Italy): 183 votes; Helga Stevens (ECR, Belgium): 77 votes; Jean Lambert (Greens/EFA, UK): 56 votes; Eleonora Forenza (GUE/NGL, Italy): 50 votes; Laurentiu Rebega (ENF, Romania): 43 votes. There were 683 votes cast (validly) in the first round out of total 718 cast.
Second round. The second round of voting began at 1.00pm and the results were announced at 2.30pm. No candidate carried the absolute majority (346 votes) of votes at the second round: Antonio Tajani: 287 votes (+13 votes); Gianni Pittella : 200 votes (+17) ; Helga Stevens : 66 votes (-11); Jean Lambert : 51 votes (-5); Laurentiu Rebega : 45 votes (+2) ; Eleonora Forenza : 42 votes (-8). There were 691 votes cast (validly) in the second round out of total 725 cast.
Helga Stevens still in the race at the third round (5.30pm). The results given at 7.00pm confirmed the trends of the second round (no absolute majority, 346 votes at the third round): Antonio Tajani : 291 votes (+4 votes); Gianni Pittella : 199 votes (-1) ; Helga Stevens : 58 votes (-8); Jean Lambert : 53 votes (+2); Eleonora Forenza : 45 votes (+3); Laurentiu Rebega : 44 votes (-1). There were 690 votes cast (validly) in the third round out of total 719 cast.
ECR gives its votes to... Tajani. Just before the third round, the ECR Group announced through a press release that it rejected the EPP-ALDE agreement that was due to ensure Tajani’s victory. The conservatives reportedly moved closer to the S&D Group around the idea of refusing to keep Guy Verhofstadt at the head of the European Parliament delegation negotiating the UK’s exit from the EU. Verhofstadt would not reportedly be very popular in London because of his federalist ideas on the European Union. But, in the end, towards 8.00pm, the ECR Group said it backed Tajani's candidacy, which would enable his victory as the president.
A fourth round, nearly a first. As no candidate carried the absolute majority of valid votes cast at the first three rounds, the president of the Parliament was elected by a simple majority at a fourth round deciding between the two candidates who obtained the most votes at the third round – Tajani and Pittella. This is the second time that this situation has occurred (after the election of Pieter Dankert from the PES in January 1982).
The election of the new European Parliament president began at 9.00am on Tuesday with three-minute presentations from six candidates. Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE) withdrew his candidacy before the vote, after making a pact with the EPP Group (see other articles). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)