His main rival is Ursula von der Leyen, the current head of the community Executive, from the family of the European People’s Party (EPP), favorite to repeat his term. The German has focused her speech on shielding and reinforcing security in Europe with a new defense policy and has assured that she will not agree with “Putin’s friends” or “anti-NATO” formations. That would theoretically rule out formations such as the French National Regroupment, led by Marine Le Pen, but it leaves room for several far-right parties, such as that of Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia), which came to power precisely thanks to the conservatives of the Von der Leyen family.
That the PES congress is in Rome is another gesture once morest these alliances with the ultras. “The extreme right, no matter whether it is one party or another, one parliamentary group or another, has an anti-European, nationalist, sometimes hateful and divisive discourse,” says Schmit, who wears a badge with a drawing of a red rose. on the jacket lapel. “They set out to capitalize on this or that situation, as we see now with peasants and farmers. And tomorrow they are on something else. They were once morest glyphosate, now they are discovering that they have to be in favor of glyphosate. “They are parties that have no vision of the future, no plans, except to go back,” he says emphatically. “The problem with going backwards is that it is the bankruptcy of Europe, but it is also the bankruptcy of our way of life, the questioning of the fundamental values for which we have fought for decades. “It is the bankruptcy of social protection, which is an element of cohesion,” he adds.
Schmit is little known at the European level, even within the bubble of community institutions, but he has built the image of a solvent and honest politician who does not seek prominence, but rather rolls up his sleeves to get the job done. He has been the only candidate top candidate of his party and therefore, to measure himself once morest Von der Leyen. Some voices point out that although he is not seen as a winner, the commissioner is the best asset to negotiate the big positions in the post-electoral distribution and to push the Commission further to the left. “We campaign to win, then we will see the reality of the numbers, the composition of the European Parliament. We want to influence the work of the Commission and negotiate policies. That is essential,” says Iratxe García, president of the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament in the presentation of the Congress.
His roadmap is to move towards a more social, feminist Europe that moves towards a “just green transition,” he points out. “There will be no pause in the green deal, but a policy of social dialogue accompanied by social and labor market policies is needed. This transition must be different, it must be a fair transition,” she emphasizes.
sanitary cord
Schmit’s arguments make it clear that Von der Leyen is not guaranteed his support for a second term if he breaks that cordon sanitaire towards the far right. The German conservative, who might have been president precisely with the votes of Polish and Hungarian ultraconservatives, knows that her margin is narrow and in recent times she has dedicated herself to winking at the extreme right and the most traditionalist sector of her party, in elements like the green agenda. Schmit assures that not everything goes. “Can I belong to a far-left radical group? Can I reach an agreement or compromise with [el nacionalpopulista húngaro Viktor] Orbán? No,” he says. “There is an absolute red line because they go once morest all our values and everything we have, everything we must achieve and build in the European Union. We do not want to have anything to do with those parties and the candidate [Von der leyen] “You must reflect and choose your alliances,” says Schmit.
He gives diverse examples, not only the Italian one, which has been the great laboratory of the PPE for its political alliances with the ultras: they have also done it in Finland, in Sweden, they flirt with the ultra Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and the Popular Party has created with the ultra and eurosceptic party Vox alliances to govern in city councils and autonomous communities, and a government coalition was being considered.
Schmit focuses more on a social agenda, but in a Europe in a complicated situation, he assures that he is not once morest investing in defense. “I would have preferred if we might benefit from the peace dividend. Unfortunately, someone very dangerous wanted the opposite and, therefore, we owe ourselves and especially also our children security,” she emphasizes. “We cannot accept that our children are exposed to permanent threats [de Vladímir Putin]to the permanent blackmail of a power [Rusia] “which is an imperialist power and, due to its orientations, a fascist power.”
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