Juncker´s sucession

Last evening, I watched the debate among the six lead candidates for the European Parliament. This was a good initiative, thanks to Euronews, the TV channel.

Six people is a lot of participants and the conversation is therefore constrained by the time available and the balance that is needed between each candidate. The key subjects end up by being treated superficially, more as statements and slogans and less as part of a substantive dialogue. This was the main limitation. But the discussion took place in a civilised manner and was good enough to keep the viewers interested.

It was also relevant to see two young women in the podium. Both did well, notwithstanding the fact that one is a liberal and the other a green activist. I also found the socialist candidate, Frans Timmermans, to be firm and clear in his positions. He flies much higher than many members of his political family. I do not know what will happen to him in the period ahead, but I am happy to know that at least he will have a strong voice in the next European Parliament.

Manfred Weber is the centre-right candidate. That’s the same European People’s Party to which Jean-Claude Juncker belongs. He is young and has a good track record as a parliamentarian. But he lacks charisma. And he should follow some voice training sessions. Voice power is essential for a leader.

They all aspire to be the next President of the European Commission. I am not sure if anyone of them will get the job. My guess, at this moment, is that Margrethe Vestager stands a good chance. She could be a compromise candidate between the left and the right.

The successor to Juncker must see his or her political family do well in the forthcoming elections. However, that is not enough. The heads of State and government will have a strong say. Their first attempt at deciding who should be the next boss of the European Commission will take place on May 28. At this stage, we can speculate a lot about names. There is already an intense social media exchange about the matter. In my opinion that is, for now, a waste of time.  

Liberalism is not a useful banner

In today’s Europe, the banner around “liberal values” does not attract enough support. Everything that is associated with “liberalism” is seen as elitist and globalist. At least, it is perceived as unclear, a concept difficult to grasp and distant from the daily concerns people are confronted with. It cannot be used to win votes during the forthcoming European elections.  

Brexit: time to move on

Brexit is taking too much of EU leaders’ attention and energy. It’s time to sort it out, to have enough clarity about the direction to follow and then move on. There are many other issues that require top attention. Including an assessment of what remains to be achieved as the current leadership ends their mandates and a definition of what should be the goals for the next cycle. Being clear about those goals could allow for a more substantive campaign for the European elections of May this year. It would bring the debate to a higher level. The candidates must be questioned about their responses to the key challenges. Beyond, well beyond, Brexit. 

2019 European elections

The elections for the EU Parliament will take place in May 2019. No need to tell you that no political party has invited me to run. Fine! Actually, I am not a member of any party and have no close friend as a party leader. Those are two very strong reasons.

But, if I were campaigning for such election and had to chose one single message to focus the agenda, I would build it around protection. The EU citizens must be sure that the political leaders are concerned and give priority to people’s security. And I would make sure that security would be understood in a wider sense. It’s not just physical security in a traditional way that I would be talking about. It’s protection against a span of risks, including new forms of poverty and other related social hardships.

The European common project must be perceived to be about a Europe that protects. And about safeguarding values and standards of leaving. Values might be considered as easier to defend. That would be a mistaken view. They are as threatened as the rest. Therefore, the message about protection calls for a comprehensive view. At the same time, it must be simple to explain and easy to catch.

This is true throughout the EU, notwithstanding the economic differences and the cultural specificities of each country.