European elections 2019
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The woman, who actually does not want to be a top candidate, is not embarrassed by any answer. There are many reasons why people are turning away from the EU, says Margrethe Vestager. All the abbreviations, that's it. "How can we expect the citizens to value that? We have to tear down the labels," she says, applauding in the plenary hall of the Brussels European Parliament.
It may not be fair, but of course it's especially exciting to listen to Vestager on this Wednesday evening, the woman who cheated on the debate a bit. Frans Timmermans (Social Democrats), Manfred Weber (European People's Party), and also Ska Keller (Greens) know that they are campaigning for the top candidates of their parties. However, Vestager, the liberal competition commissioner, is holding back officially, although of course she is also making appointments, most recently at the Re: publica conference in Berlin. Unlike the rest on stage, the Liberals reject the idea of the top candidate.
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So much that Vestager says sounds new and fresh, even if it's not revolutionary. "It does not take much to impress," she says jokingly, as she is announced a bit pompously at the small press conference after the discussion. That's also true for the debate itself.
For example, youth unemployment: "Anyone who has a full time job should be able to lead a decent life," says Vestager. Or on climate change: "We have the technology we need, we can start now." If secret candidate Vestager attacks you, it's Weber, the likely election winner. "We work together as a commission, because party affiliation has no role," she once said, as Weber praises a Commissioner of the EPP in particular. How to make eye-level.
Meet @vestager, one of the candidates for the European Commission taking part in a debate at the Parliament in Brussels on 15 May ⬇ pic.twitter.com/sP21qhQN9I
- European Parliament (@Europarl_EN) 13 May 2019The European Parliament has invited to the debate, 90 minutes, the house is full. The plenary hall has been extensively rebuilt for weeks, where else sits the parliamentary president, now emblazoned a huge video screen, Europe's election campaign may not be sexy, but the plenary chamber in Brussels, but it is already, at least until the election night. Money did not seem to matter.
The organizers of the debate have, intentionally or not, been screened out: on the left side of the stage are the three candidates who have no chance of ever becoming commissions. To the right of the moderators take the lineup which are said to have some chances of succeeding Jean-Claude Juncker: Vestager, Weber, Timmermans, two of them top official candidates.
Francisco Seco / AP
From left: Jan Zahradil, Nico Cué, Ska Keller, Margrethe Vestager, Frans Timmermans, Manfred Weber
It starts energetically, Weber betrays the motto of his possible commission: "Commission of the restart" should be called, party friend and predecessor Juncker will be happy. Timmermans brings climate protection to the center and ends with his statements to the second, debating professional, no question. Later, he also brings the phrase of the evening when it comes to the danger of populists. Look what they did in Britain, he says. The UK has been acting like "Game of Thrones on Steroids" ever since.
Meet @TimmermansEU, one of the candidates for the European Commission taking part in a live debate at Brussels' Parliament on 15 May ⬇ pic.twitter.com/0Obw2fG1fj
- European Parliament (@Europarl_EN) 13 May 201947 TV stations in 25 countries are involved, according to the parliamentary press, even in Azerbaijan and Georgia they want to see what Jan Zahradil from the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformers Nico Cué of the European Left (yes, they are on stage on the left) politicians, of whom most citizens in Europe have never heard of.
In essence, all candidates, with the exception of Vestager, are fighting for leaders not simply to bury the top-tier system when they meet in Brussels for dinner two days after the election. Above all, French President Emmanuel Macron has long been a critic of the idea. Of course, the suspicion suggests that the French simply does not like it, that he could not muster suitable staff on time and is now unwilling to leave Europe's top jobs to the EPP.
The migration is dealt with routinely on stage, then it goes to youth unemployment. It gets lively for the first time as the round comes to talk about climate protection. Weber is a man of pragmatic solutions, emphasizing his expertise as an environmental engineer.
Meet @ManfredWeber, one of the candidates for the European Commission taking part in a live debate at the Brussels Parliament on 15 May ⬇ pic.twitter.com/BfQ4qOKnv9
- European Parliament (@Europarl_EN) 13 May 2019The Green Ska Keller, she too, of course, is not commission head and left, now has her parade theme - as Vestager when it comes to the taxation of Internet giants. Keller is doing well, her English is sitting, her arguments mostly too.
The conservative Zahradil from the Czech Republic brings a bit of fundamental opposition to the "Europe gets it fixed" mainstream on stage, that's good. Europe is not a state, he says, does not create jobs, can not tax anyone. Does not hurt that someone briefly reminded.
Interim conclusion, just one and a half weeks before the election: Everyone has their topic, Weber the migration, Vestager the taxes, Timmermans the rule of law. Vestager is most interesting this evening, Timmermans comes over as a passionate fighter for social issues, Weber as a doer who wants to integrate.
President of the Commission, that is the good news this Wednesday evening could be any of the three.