A new coalition for a new political era based on far-right governments, economic protectionism and rising populism seems to be the reason that led center-right European People's Party -EPP- to create a new ruling coalition with the European Conservatives and Reformers -ECR- and the liberal ALDE grouping, and elect Antonio Tajani, a EPP representative, the new President of European Parliament.
The new coalition, that will be controlling the legislative activity of the mono-cameral European Parliament according to a right-wing agenda based on economic austerity, replaced a "Grand Coalition" between the European People's Party and the grouping of Socialists and Democrats that had been ruling in the European Parliament over the past legislatures.
A couple of hours before the election, Tajani managed to sign an agreement with ALDE leader Guy Verhofstad, and after three voting sessions he secured his election by gaining the endorsement of the ECR grouping. In doing so, Tajani got more votes than Gianni Pittella, the President of the grouping of Socialists and Democrats who was also supported by the Greens and the United Left.
The election of Tajani not only changed the ruling majority within the European Parliament. It also led to a dramatic change of the balance of power within the European Institutions. In particular, a broad list of political personalities are right to be considered the real victors of the political battle that occurred around, and behind, the electoral struggle between Tajani and Pittella.
The main victor is definitely Silvio Berlusconi, a former Prime Minister of Italy who managed to get his protégé elected at the helm of the Legislative Assembly of the European Union. Tajani is a former monarchist who converted to center-right when Berlusconi founded his own political party "Go Italy" in 1994. Then, Tajani tried an unsuccessful bid for Rome's Mayor in 2001 but was appointed, after 2009 European Legislative Election, the Vice-President of European Commission as a representative of the Italian Government led by Berlusconi.
Along with Berlusconi, whose energy policy led in a bilateral manner with Russian President Vladimir Putin endangered the realization of a common energy initiative by the European Union between 2001 and 2011, the British Tories are a main victor of the political battle tied to the election of Tajani. By supporting Tajani, the ECR grouping, which is led by British Conservatives, managed to become a partner of the ruling coalition within the European Parliament. British Tories also managed to put an end to a period of political isolation due to the support to Brexit by important Tory representatives, such as the leader of ECR grouping Syed Kamall.
Another important victor is the President of European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, who managed to have a member of his party elected the President of European Parliament, and maintain his influence on the ruling majority within the European Legislative Institution in so doing. Moreover, along with the election of Tajani as the President of European Parliament, Juncker, a former PM of Luxembourg who supports an European Union only led by the historical axis between France and Germany, might also manage to concentrate all the political power of Europe into the hands of representatives of Western Europe.
In fact, in exchange for the support of ALDE to Tajani, Verhofstad, a former PM of Belgium, might have requested to be appointed the new President of European Council. In so doing, Verhofstad would replace Donald Tusk, a former PM of Poland who resigned from leading his country's government to held office at the helm of one of the most important EU Institutions and raise the prestige of Central Eastern Europe in so doing.
Even though defeated in the ballot, another victor, at least from a moral point of view, is Gianni Pittella. The President of the grouping of Socialists and Democrats provided a consistent electoral campaign that energized both Members of European Parliament and militants outside the Parliament around traditional core principles of the center-left, such as Human and Civil Rights, Labor, economic development and Social Justice.
Even though he has been defeated due to an unexpected political agreement between Tajani and Verhofstad, Pittella, a supporter of EU neighborhood policies towards Ukraine and Serbia, has become the undiscussed leader of a new parliamentary opposition composed by the Socialists and Democrats, the Greens and the United Left.
Angela Merkel and Central Eastern Europe the main defeated
In addition to victors, the election of Tajani led to a broad list of defeated as well. The first loser right to be mentioned is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose CDU party de facto lost its traditional hegemony within the European People's Party. In fact, the election of Tajani led the most populist fraction of the European People's Party, led by Berlusconi, French party Le Républicains and Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, to gain power and political prestige over the most moderate fraction, composed by Merkel's German CDU and Donald Tusk's Polish Civic Platform.
Another loser is ALDE leader Guy Verhofstad, whose unexpected political agreement with Tajani and the Conservatives demonstrated his inability to provide, and lead, a political strategy of long-term. Even though Verhofstad raised his chances to become the new President of European Council, the former Belgium PM lost political support from the left-wing fraction of ALDE, whose members eventually voted for Pittella in the secret ballot.
Moreover, Verhofstad started to lose credibility as a consistent pro-European politician when he tried, in vain, to force to provide Italian Five Star Movement, a populist political force that opposes both the European Union and NATO, and cozies with both British anti-Euro UKIP party and fascist movements in Italy, with ALDE membership.
Finally, another defeated is Central Eastern Europe, whose unique representative in the European Institutions, Donald Tusk, risks now to be replaced by a representative of Western Europe. A new triumvirate at the helm of the European Union composed by Juncker, Tajani and Verhofstad -a Luxembourger, an Italian and a Belgian respectively- is unlikely neither to understand, nor to listen, the needs of Central Eastern Europe, in particular with regards to economic solidarity, defense of EU eastern flank and pair opportunities between EU member states of the Eurozone and those member states which do not belong to the Eurozone.
Intermarium as an utopia to relaunch the European Dream
Given the new political balance of power within the European Institutions, it should be wise and necessary that the main EU member states of Central Eastern Europe, such as Poland and the Baltic States, were finally and seriously committed to strengthen a regional alliance along with Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia Rumania and Bulgaria -and hopefully Greece.
Hopefully, the alliance of Central Eastern Europe should be a modern version of the Intermarium of the interwar period aimed at relaunching the European Union as an inclusive project based on a Dream of peace, prosperity, Civil Rights and tolerance.
The new Intermarium should also strengthen the political power of Central Eastern Europe within the European Union and, hopefully, maintain alive the EU neighborhood policy towards Serbia and Ukraine.
In practice, given the right-wing and nationalist governments ruling in the main countries of Central Eastern Europe, first of all Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, the idea of an Intermarium that would relaunch the European Dream is quite far from being feasible.
Therefore, both Central Eastern Europe and the European Union as a whole are today in serious danger facing growing populism, intolerance and heavily right-wing policies all across the continent.
Strategy XXI
@MatteoCazzulani
