The new Portuguese MEP João Cotrim Figueiredo has submitted his candidacy for the presidency of the Renew Europe group, which will be decided by a vote on 25 June, reported Politico on Monday 24 June.
The Renew Europe group has confirmed that the newly elected official would face France’s Valérie Hayer, a candidate for re-election since 11 June. The deadline for applications was 10pm on 24 June.
At the time of going to press, only these two candidates had been nominated and, according to one source, it was unlikely that a third would be nominated.
The Portuguese would in any case have the support of a number of delegations within the ALDE party, and should be able to capitalise on the ‘novelty’ effect of his candidacy.
Although only two Portuguese MEPs currently sit on Renew Europe, the candidate will be able to boast about the progress of his Iniciativa Liberal party, which had no MEPs in 2019, while Valérie Hayer is associated with the very poor performance of Renaissance in France. According to this source, the game remains wide open.
However, other sources quoted by Euronews indicate that the odds are more in favour of the Frenchwoman, with the Portuguese lacking sufficient support. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)