Daniel Caspary, delegation leader with Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), says his party wants a renewed pact with the European Parliament’s centre-left and not the hard-right.
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, who hails from the same CDU party, has led the EC for the past five years thanks to the CDU’s European People’s Party (EPP) group in the Parliament, which has itself relied on the support of centre-left Socialists and Liberals.
Caspary’s comments on May 2 regarding the CDU therefore reflected a desire to continue such policy in Brussels.
They follow those of EPP secretary general Thanasis Bakolas who made clear at the end of last year that a coalition with the Right after the June EP elections had been ruled out.
Von der Leyen could come under pressure should she manage to secure a second term as EC chief; if the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID) groups gain power, they could pressure the EPP to discard its current agreements with the Left.
But if the EPP puts in a strong performance and the Liberal Renew group does not collapse, despite the predicted fall of the Socialists, disregarding the Right remains a possible policy choice.
Caspary said: “We are shooting for centrist politics … if we succeed in finding a stable majority together with the Socialists and the Renew group.”
His insistence regarding future alliances may have been prompted by remarks made by von der Leyen during the main presidential candidates’ debate for the elections on April 28.
She did not exclude co-operation with right-wing parties, and in particular Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia.
Caspary said he considered allegiance with the Left as viable as long as its members fully backed the re-appointment of von der Leyen as EC President.
The EPP and parties at national level have committed to try to ensure von der Leyen’s return to the top post, despite doubts the former German defence minister has generated among many in the assembly and even within the EPP.
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