quinta-feira, 24 de novembro de 2016

Tusk and Juncker sitting pretty, with or without Martin Schulz


Tusk and Juncker sitting pretty, with or without Martin Schulz
The German Social Democrat’s departure is unlikely to expose Jean-Claude Juncker or Donald Tusk.

By FLORIAN EDER 11/24/16, 8:08 PM CET Updated 11/24/16, 8:12 PM CET

Martin Schulz’s announcement that he’ll quit his post as European Parliament president to return to German politics came as a surprise to his own center-left political group and caused a political tremor in Brussels — but the aftershocks will be limited, and local.

The departure of the only Social Democrat currently presiding over one of the three main EU institutions could be expected to unleash excited discussions about the future of the other two presidents, Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk at the Council, who are both from the center-right. Sure enough, Gianni Pittella, leader of Schulz’s Socialists & Democrats in the Parliament, called for the balance of power to be respected.

“You can be sure that we will not accept a right-wing monopoly over European Union,” Pittella told POLITICO by text message.

His compatriot Sandro Gozi, junior minister for EU affairs under center-left Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, was quoted by Ansa news agency as saying Schulz’s departure should raise questions about Tusk’s future at the Council. “It’s not possible for the Commission, Council and the European Parliament presidency all to be held by the (center-right) European People’s Party (EPP),” said Gozi.

Tusk and Juncker both appeared pretty sanguine, however, about Schulz’s decision to leave in January. They said they were sad to see him go, but by early afternoon on Thursday, Juncker was joking about whose job might be on the line, while Tusk boasted about his time in this year’s Brussels half marathon (under two hours, apparently).

“I’m absolutely sure Martin Schulz will be as effective in German politics as he was here in Brussels,” said Tusk.

Of the two, 59-year-old former Polish prime minister Tusk appears more vulnerable, as his current two-and-a-half year term expires mid-way through next year. But any attempt to oust Tusk would mean an implicit alliance with his foes in Poland’s ruling, right-wing Law and Justice (PiS), which has repeatedly insinuated that it could drop its support for a second term for Tusk.

In fact, PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński’s interest in dislodging Tusk from his EU post could strengthen Tusk’s support base in Brussels and eventually even in leftist-leaning EU national capitals, such as Rome.

Juncker can afford to be more relaxed. The only one of the three presidents with a five-year term, Juncker is barely at the half-way stage. Asked by reporters if Schulz’s departure meant he or Tusk was going to resign, Juncker pointed at Tusk and joked: “He is.”

Earlier this week, in response to a report in German magazine Der Spiegel that Juncker was ready to throw in the towel if his buddy Schulz left town, Commission spokesperson Alexander Winterstein commented: “The president will not quit.” On Thursday, Winterstein remarked that, like anyone with a long political career behind them, Juncker was “used to” occasionally losing allies.

Which leaves the Parliament as the major Brussels institution most likely to feel the impact of Schulz’s departure. Although the news caught MEPs off guard, and came only a few days after a fight between Pittella and EPP group chairman Manfred Weber, it doesn’t appear likely to tip the balance decisively in favor of the EPP taking over the presidency.

Although this was originally part of a power-sharing agreement between the main political blocs, it didn’t prevent Schulz from campaigning for a renewed term and won’t stop others from the S&D group either, according to Socialist MEPs.

Quentin Ariès and Ryan Heath contributed reporting.

Authors:


Florian Eder  

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