"The vote is likely to be the solution," acknowledged Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk after having met bilaterally with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on the margins of the European People's Party summit, held yesterday (18 June) in Brussels ahead of the European Council.
Poland's candidate is former Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, while Italy is pushing for Mario Mauro, currently vice-president of the European Parliament.
"Our party is the biggest in terms of votes in the EPP. We got around 12 million votes, more than the German Christian Democrats, which obtained 10 million, and, above all, more than the Polish Conservatives, who got only 3.5 million," Berlusconi said upon his arrival at the EPP summit. He also recalled that Italy had not held the presidency of the European Parliament since 1979.
However, Berlusconi's position would seem weaker in the event of a vote within the EPP, since the Poles can count on the clear support of the Germans and on the likely backing of the French. Poland is also the biggest of the new East European member states, which are yet to hold a key position in the EU institutions (apart from the Czechs, current holders of the rotating EU presidency).
The president of the EPP, Wilfried Martens, confirmed the lack of compromise. "There are still two candidates and in case of no agreement, the group will vote," he said at the end of the EPP meeting. He also added that no agreement had been reached with the other political forces of the new Parliament to share the presidency across the five-year mandate, according to common practice.
Uncertainty over second president
Martin Schulz, whom the Socialist group has re-nominated as its president for the next five-year term, avoided questions on whether he was also a candidate to share half of the European Parliament president's term. The PES and EPP have repeatedly shared the post in the past.
"I was re-proposed by the leaders of our parties as leader of the Socialist group in the European Parliament. That's the exact post for which I'm running on 23 June," he said.
Among liberals, weakened at the last elections, many options are circulating too. Their leader in the Parliament, Graham Watson, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the EU assembly before the elections.
But his chances look bleaker after the Liberals' relatively poor election result, while rumours are circulating about alternative liberal candidates for key positions, like former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt for the post of Commission president (EurActiv 10/06/09), or Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen in the role of EU foreign policy chief when the Lisbon Treaty is adopted.
The British Conservatives and the Greens have not until now clearly supported any alliance with other parties for the nomination of one of the presidents of the Parliament.
