As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
The question in the European Parliamentary election for President is not if the Bavarian Manfred Weber will win the presidency, but rather if Sebastian Kurz will simply step forward as he should and put the presidency upon him, as it is a fit which suits Europe well.
Herr Weber is the protege of Chancellor Kurz, but in that he has zero opposition of note. The list of contenders look like the American democratic party group for the 2020 Trump Inauguration, as the rudimentary fact in this is, there are so many liberals running, that no Green can make a challenge, and in that, the liberals running are so weak that water looks like Herculean steel compared to them.
The only legitimate contender mentioned is Garcon Barnier, but the Chancellor has already wielded his diplomatic hand in Barnier has announced that he will support the German Weber.
"Let me be clear, my short answer is yes," Barnier said at a conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, when asked if he supports …
Bloomberg
That is where the reality is in this. Manfred Weber will be the European President, unless one man steps forward and again assumes the rightful place he belongs as head of Europe. The reality is that with the Steve Bannon and anti Pope coup against Sebastian Kurz, he is going to easily obtain the Chancellorship of Austria in September without even trying. His blitz of political down home shaking all the boden's hands, is going to net him a Kurz party majority, sweeping away the right and left in Austria who conspired against him.
With that mandate about to be confirmed, the Lame Cherry can not help but note that Europeans should come to their senses, and Manfred Weber should state that he desires Sebastian Kurz to be President of Europe and that he would gladly serve as his first Vice President.
Would only that the Habsburgs had the fortitude to begin such a bold stroke, as this is where Europe is moving, and the day will arrive that Sebastian Kurz will be voted in as unified leader of Europe, in a federalism which he has fostered into existence. It will no longer be the European Union, but the Kurz Union.
For: A high-flyer in the EU's influential centre-right bloc, he is the closest this contest has to a front-runner.
The
46-year-old Bavarian, whose candidacy has been endorsed by prominent
leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Austrian Chancellor
Sebastian Kurz, has served as leader of the European People's Party
(EPP) since 2014.
Against:
The EPP may be the biggest grouping in Parliament but it has lost
ground in the elections and Mr Weber will have to secure the support of
other groups if he is to win.
French President Emmanuel Macron has
shown no indication of his support for Mr Weber, and with environmental
issues coming to the fore and a surge in Green MEPs elected in May, it
will not help that his centre-right colleagues have been accused of
voting against climate change measures. What he says: He
spoke recently about the importance of strengthening security across
the bloc and the need to protect the "European way of life". In a
Twitter post in November, which featured a promotional video, he wrote: "Here and everywhere else people are asking us to bring Europe back home."
He
has promised to appoint a commissioner to oversee a new relationship
with Africa to help control migration to Europe, and has said that
future trade deals with other countries should include clauses banning
child labour.
Margrethe Vestager, Liberals
For: A big name in Danish politics,
Ms Vestager has spent the past five years as competition commissioner,
spearheading EU anti-trust investigations that have ended in big fines
for technology giants Google and Apple.
Her battle to protect
consumers and make large firms pay earned her the wrath of US President
Donald Trump last year, who is reported to have told Mr Juncker
following news of the hefty fines: "Your tax lady, she really hates the
US." Against: Ms Vestager is certainly causing a
buzz and the Liberal ALDE group gained ground in the elections, partly
thanks to the arrival of President Macron's party. But the Liberals have fielded a slate of seven candidates for the EU job, and one Commission colleague says her choice is out of the question as she was not even a lead candidate. What she says:
"I have worked with breaking monopolies. This is also what voters have
been doing. The monopoly of power is broken," she declared after the
elections that broke the majority of the two big centre-right and
centre-left blocs in the European Parliament.
For: Frans Timmermans has the wind
in his sails, having led the Dutch centre-left Labour party to a
dramatic, unexpected victory in the European elections, winning 19% of
the vote on the back of a pro-European campaign.
Mr Timmermans is
First Vice-President of the European Commission, helping to steer
through EU legislation banning plastic straws and negotiating the EU's
deal with Turkey to reduce the flow of migrants.
He was lampooned
in the run-up to the May vote by political opponents as Eurocrat "Hans
Brusselmans"; but the negative message failed and the multi-lingual
Labour leader took advantage of his election campaign to push for the
Commission presidency. Against: He is widely disliked in Poland and Hungary for challenging their governments over rule of law. What he says: Warning
of the risks of nationalism he said last month: "People who used to
vote for my party and many parties here are now voting for nationalist
parties, sometimes even extremist parties. That's our fault," he said.
He also spoken of Brexit as leaving the UK looking like "Game of Thrones
on steroids".
His latest policy proposals for the bloc include a
minimum rate of corporation tax across the EU of 18%, and the
implementation of a minimum wage in every member state.
For: After the Green surge in the
May elections, her grouping is now the fourth biggest in Parliament and
environmental issues have become key to the EU's agenda over the next
five years. In her home country, Germany, the Greens are currently
leading in the opinion polls.
Ska Keller has already stood once as
Green "Spitzenkandidat" (top candidate) in 2014, and is as focused on
the rights of migrants as she is addressing the plight of the
environment. She has previously demanded that future EU agreements
contain better protections for human rights.
She became a MEP in
2009 at the age of 27 and has said that, while she aims to represent
everybody, young people in particular need a louder voice in Europe.
She
has a master's in Islamic Studies, Turkology and Jewish Studies and is
social media savvy, posting regularly on Twitter to her more than 45,000
followers. Against: Up against the other
candidates, Ms Keller is likely to struggle to find the support of
enough member states. And as it is the member states who have the job of
nominating a candidate for approval by the Parliament, they are more
likely to go for one of the bigger names. What she says: Ska
Keller wants to tackle climate change but not through banning air
travel. "If trains become cheaper and better, we'll make short-haul
flights redundant." Climate change: Where we are in seven charts
Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank chief executive
For: The Bulgarian economist is not
even a candidate so she is a long shot, but as a high-flying East
European she definitely has a chance.
Ms Georgieva, 65, is highly
regarded among European leaders for overseeing a reduction in the bloc's
spending while serving as EU budget commissioner between 2014 and 2016.
During that time she was also vice-president of the Commission.
She
has managed one of the world's largest humanitarian aid budgets,
garnering a reputation while doing so as an outspoken champion of gender
equality.
She has worked alongside Bill Gates and former UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to raise the issue of climate change to
the forefront of the bloc's policy agenda.
With all that and her
background in the centre-right EPP, she could act as a unifying
candidate for member states opposed to Manfred Weber. Against: She
is not yet a candidate and Parliament may object to someone who has not
been part of the race. Parliament says the winner has to be one "who
made his/her programme and personality known prior to the elections, and
engaged in a European-wide campaign". What she says:
"My grandparents had very little education. My parents finished high
school. I was the first in my extended family to get a PhD. From a
village in Bulgaria to CEO of the @worldbank -- this is what possibility
looks like," she writes on her Twitter page.
Michel Barnier, EU chief Brexit negotiator
For: He may not be a candidate, but
few EU figures have had a profile as dominant as this 68-year-old
former French foreign minister who succeeded in keeping 27 countries on
the same page during the bloc's Brexit negotiations with the UK.
He
is admired by President Macron who said last month that he was "one of
the European leaders that have eminent qualities and can be on the list
[of candidates for EU top jobs]". Against: Once
said by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to possess the "charisma
of an oyster", Mr Barnier is known for choosing his words carefully and
has a precise manner when addressing leaders - often with a formidable
stare.
He is also known for backing the legacy of post-war
President Charles de Gaulle, who advocated a centralised economy,
powerful presidency and independent foreign policy.
The
secretary-general of European journalists, Fabrice Pozzoli-Montenay,
told the BBC that Mr Barnier had in recent years seen Gaullism as the
defence and protection of the European Union. What he says:
"Now more than ever, we Europeans need collective action in defence of
our values and a rules-based international order. This could be Europe's
moment, based on a more robust and decisive European Union." (January 2019 opinion piece)
Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor
For: Still sitting at the top of
the list of most powerful women in the world, according to Forbes, the
woman once dubbed the Empress of Europe is relinquishing her role as
German chancellor in 2021 - a decision that sparked widespread
speculation over what will happen next.
Mrs Merkel was said by Mr
Juncker himself to be "highly qualified" for a senior EU role, telling
Germany's Funke media group in April that she was "not only a person of
respect, but also a complete and endearing work of art". Against:
The 64-year-old is the Brussels rumour mill's favourite fantasy
candidate, despite previously saying that she would not seek a role in a
political office after stepping down in 2021, and appearing to show no
interest in the job whatsoever.
Although her coalition with the
centre-left Social Democrats is in jeopardy and she is no longer party
leader, she is not really in a position to take up the presidency
anyway. What she says: "I as a member of the EPP family will of course work to support Manfred Weber."
In the above list, Manfred Weber is the uber presence in European Parliament, but there is one who overshadows Herr Weber and that is Sebastian Kurz. Come the first crisis, and Europeans will turn to Mr. Kurz by demand, and in that, it only is a logical conclusion that Europeans appoint Sebastian Kurz, exactly for that reality.
Bloomberg
