Greens spearhead anti-Barroso campaign[fr][de] 

The Greens' 'Stop Barroso!' campaign spelt out in no uncertain terms the party's negative opinion of the centre-right Portuguese's term as president, and called on European socialists to present a credible alternative candidate. 

Green spokesperson Philippe Lamberts, who will run in the European elections in Belgium this June, told EurActiv that "the Socialists are talking with both corners of their mouths" on this issue, arguing that "some socialists criticise Barroso, while others support his reappointment. This is something we cannot understand". 

Similarly, Italian MEP and Green group co-president Monica Frassoni described as "very serious" the fact that some centre-left leaders, most prominently Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero have given their support to Barroso. 

According to party sources, the Greens did not announce their own candidate for Commission president because they do not believe they have the numbers or clout to provide a credible alternative. 

"We have to recognise as democrats," the sources said, "that we are not the strongest political family in the Parliament and we are not likely to be after 7 June. Logically, therefore, the second largest group in the Parliament – the Socialists – should be the ones taking the initiative to propose an alternative to Barroso". 

PES president on board the anti-Barroso train? 

In a related development, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, president of the Party of European Socialists (PES), said at the weekend that his party would not support Barroso, despite stated support for the incumbent from prominent centre-left leaders such as Zapatero and the UK's Gordon Brown. 

Rasmussen also called for a decision on the next Commission president to be delayed until late summer, giving the European Parliament sufficient time to reflect on the results of the June elections and what bearing they will have on the issue. As things stand, European leaders could decide on a new president as early as their 18 June summit in Brussels. 

It is expected that if the PES defies current polling and emerges as the Parliament's largest group, they will push to have a Socialist Commission president. 

Philippe Lamberts appeared to leave open the possibility of a Green candidate should the Socialists fail to deliver: "We are challenging them to put forward a candidate, and if they don't, we'll see how we can circumvent that," he said, adding that "we have not played our last card in this game yet."