The push would put Metsola and the EPP on a collision course with the Socialists and Democrats, the Parliament’s second-biggest group, which claims it should get the presidency as part of a power-sharing arrangement signed at the beginning of the term. But the EPP has remained vague about whether they committed to any such deal.
The S&D hasn’t yet pushed a candidate to replace Metsola — a fact that hasn’t escaped some of the party’s own allies. One Green lawmaker, when asked whether they would support the Socialists, said “I will think about it when they have a candidate, I cannot support a vague claim for a post.”
All the infighting between the EPP and S&D has opened the door for Renew Europe, the third member of the centrist coalition, to start thinking about suggesting a compromise candidate, two Renew lawmakers said.
Will far right secure leadership positions?
The reshuffle will again test the so-called cordon sanitaire, an informal arrangement among centrist forces to keep the far right out of decision-making.
In practice, that rule no longer applies when it comes to passing laws — the EPP has in the past year voted with the far right on topics such as migration and deregulation.
However, Weber said in an interview with POLITICO last year that it was a “red line” for him and his political family “to give any role for right-extreme politicians here in this house, to represent the institution, to be power holders on the administrative side, and also on other aspects where you have an executive role.”