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MADRID — Spain’s center-right Popular Party stands firmly behind Ursula von der Leyen’s candidacy for a second term as European Commission president and would not entertain an alternative nominee such as Italy’s Mario Draghi, the party’s campaign chairman told POLITICO.
“I’m sure Ursula will be the candidate we present to the Council,” said Esteban González Pons, a senior PP official who is managing his party’s European election campaign. “Ursula has our clear support.”
González Pons, who is also vice president of the European People’s Party, the center-right party group that is leading polls ahead of the election, said that even if von der Leyen’s bid were unsuccessful for some reason, the EPP would insist on someone from its own ranks becoming Commission president.
Spain’s People’s Party is the second-largest member of the EPP after Germany’s Christian Democrats, giving it a strong voice in the party’s personnel choices.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who backed von der Leyen for her first term, ignited speculation about an alternative candidate for the Commission’s top post after he signaled his support for Draghi. The former ECB president and Italian ex-prime minister has no party affiliation.
Asked last week whether France supports von der Leyen’s bid, Pascal Canfin, an MEP from Macron’s liberal Renaissance party with a direct line to the president, said: “France and everyone in the presidential ecosystem would like Draghi to play a role.”
To become Commission president, a candidate must be nominated by the European Council and be approved by the Parliament. The nominee typically comes from the party that garners the most votes in the European election.
If the Council’s nominee fails to win an absolute majority in the Parliament, it must submit a new candidate within a month.
Given that the EPP is expected to win the European election and in light of its strong position in national governments, it would be unlikely to accept a candidate not from its ranks, even someone of Draghi’s stature.
