For the Social Democratic S&D group in Strasbourg, it is not a foregone conclusion that an EPP Christian Democrat will be chosen this autumn as the new president of the European Parliament. Group leader Iratxe Garcia Perez also does not want to confirm that S&D will adhere to the 2019 agreement that the EPP would take over the presidency halfway through the parliamentary term.
EPP group leader Manfred Weber surprised many last week by announcing that he is stepping down from the presidency because he prefers to remain a politician and wants to succeed EPP chairman Donald Tusk. It has also been suggested that Weber wants to keep his options open to become a minister in Germany if the CDU/CSU forms a new coalition after the federal elections (September 26).
Therefore, the EPP has started an internal selection process to find another EPP candidate to succeed current Parliament president David Sassoli (S&D) in November. The automatic way in which the EPP claims this position has irritated several groups in Strasbourg.
Garcia Perez made it clear this morning at a press conference in Strasbourg that her party "will not simply support any EPP candidate," that the situation has changed significantly in recent years, and that Sassoli kept the European Parliament excellently on the map during the corona period.
She also repeatedly emphasized that "there are different priorities today," apparently arguing to put the initial mid-term switching agreement on hold. She did not say that Sassoli will step down mid-term in any case or that he is available to continue for the entire term.
However, the S&D leader acknowledged "that we will have to talk with the EPP," but she wants to wait first to see which candidate the Christian Democrats might come up with. Names already being circulated include the Spaniard Esteban González Pons, the Dutch Esther de Lange, and the Maltese Roberta Metsola. Many Members of the European Parliament would like to see a female politician as president of the European Parliament.