Meloni and the first round of the European Game of Thrones

The informal dinner of the European Council last Monday served to highlight the different positions maintained by European leaders and their political families in the strange game of thrones that is being developed to renew the community’s leadership. At the behest of the European People’s Party (EPP), which intends to take two and a half of the four positions in question, the weakened Social Democrats responded with a “not for the time being”, while Macron’s liberals were satisfied with the lesser prize. Faced with her electoral defeat and empowered as well as dissatisfied, Meloni stood up, thus blocking the agreement. First Attempt by Heads of Government Placing their pawns at the head of the Commission, the Parliament, the Council and the High Representation for Foreign Policy and Security. So, everything is reduced to a temperature check or, to use the boxing metaphor, an initial exchange of blows, before the second and much more masterful assault of the ordinary European Council on Thursday and Friday of next week.

EPP plays hard

The EPP attended the meeting emerging strongly as a result of its victory in the 9J elections. Its 190 seats, with 26.9% of the votes, support its mandate to seek a half-term of the Commission presidency, the Parliament and the Council presidency. The names that were put on the table were pretty much agreed upon, which does not mean that they will not all be tossed into the air if no global agreement is reached. The heads of government initially accept that on this occasion the lead candidate or Spitzenkandidaten method will be used, that is, the candidate of the party with the most votes will be chosen by the European Parliament as the next President of the European Commission. In this way, Ursula von der Leyen Will serve a second term in office. To preside over parliament, the Popular Party proposes that Roberta Metsola also retake the entire legislature, a position she has been holding for the past two and a half years. For the post of High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, there is also a pre-consensus in the face of the liberal Kaja Kallas, former prime minister of Estonia, in an apparent gesture towards member states bordering Russia, in the midst of a war in Ukraine.

Social Democrats

Anger arose when the Popular Party requested, in addition to the aforementioned positions, also half the term for the presidency of the European Council, which theoretically they had. The candidacy of António Costa, former Portuguese Prime Minister, did not face resistance from the Popular Party, but as long as he only covered half the mandate, they wanted the other half to be occupied by a member of their party. It was up to Chancellor Scholz and President Sánchez to oppose this order, which was nothing more than The first clash before the battle for power This is coming at the next European Council. The Social Democrats at this meeting turned out to be weakened with 136 seats and 18.89% of the votes, but, above all, a strong blow was dealt to the Germans of the SPD, who were “surprised” by the militants of the Alternative for Germany, ousted from the position of third place in the European elections.

melon plant

The queen of this peculiar European Game of Thrones is none other than Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the party that won the elections in her country, Fratelli Italia. She also emerged victorious from the holding of the G7 summit, where she vetoed the inclusion of a reference to abortion in the final declaration requested by President Macron. And the image of her leading a confused President Biden remained in the retina of European leaders. She did not want to make statements in the media and her face initially reflected her annoyance at the proposals of populists, liberals and social democrats to share the cake of power without trusting her. Questioned the way he spoke about the allegations Without defining the 2024-2029 priority agenda in advance and refusing to negotiate a plan that blocked all negotiations. Meloni wants the European institutions to turn towards the extreme right, which she represents despite being formally more moderate. The sum of the two far-right groups in the European Parliament, the Reformists and Conservatives and the Democratic Identity, has won 141 seats and 19.59% of the vote. A stubborn reality for a party like Meloni, who wants to assert its power to influence the European agenda and the state of the institutions.