The largest family of European parties has a new leader: the German Manfred Weber was elected the new chairman of the European People’s Party (EPP) at a congress in Rotterdam on Tuesday. Weber received 447 out of 515 votes from delegates from across Europe. The Bavarian Christian Socialist succeeds former EU Council President Donald Tusk, who wants to make a comeback as Polish head of government next year.
Weber takes over the conservative party family in the midst of a serious crisis. Since the change of government in Germany last autumn, no major EU country has had a conservative head of government. Weber thanked his predecessor Tusk for “closing the Orban file” and that the EPP is now “the rule of law party” in Europe.
Weber: Unhappy EPP top candidate in 2019 European elections
The hapless EPP top candidate in the 2019 European elections is hoping for a “signal of departure” from Congress, as he said Tuesday. He was convinced that in two years’ time he would be able to defend the top position of the EPP in the European elections and left open whether he would like to reapply for the position of President of the European Commission. Weber wants to keep his previous job as EPP group leader in the European Parliament so that “citizens can understand what the EPP stands for”.
Weber emphasized the role of Nehammer
The ÖVP delegation was led by Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), who used his stay in Rotterdam for several bilateral meetings. Weber emphasized the important role that Nehammer currently plays for the EU conservatives. “At the level of heads of state or government, Karl Nehammer is a strategic pillar for the work of the EPP, even if he is new in office, there is no doubt about that,” Weber said.
European People’s Party struggles with course after series of defeats
It is the first EPP congress since Fidesz’ controversial Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban left the EPP. This has faced further setbacks in recent months, with conservative heads of government in Bulgaria, Germany and most recently Slovenia being voted out. However, Weber was convinced that the trend could be reversed and pointed to good polls in Finland and Spain, which are currently run by Social Democrats.
EPP: Too mediocre or too good?
Programmatically, the battle for the future course of the traditional family of parties was central. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic admitted the situation is “difficult” for the EPP member parties because they are criticized for being too moderate or too right-wing. One should not get involved in such discussions, but present oneself to voters as ‘problem solvers’, he emphasized. EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola called on her party friends to be more proud of their pro-European orientation.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
