Antonio Tajani becomes the new President of the European Parliament
On Tuesday, the seventeenth of January, Antonio Tajani, sixty-three, was elected President of the European Parliament. The candidate of the coalition between the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), a former European commissioner and spokesman of the Italian government under PM Silvio Berlusconi, received three hundred and fifty-one votes, while his opponent, the social-democrat Gianni Patella secured two hundred and eighty-two.
An important element which enabled Tajani to win the position was ALDE leader and former Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt’s withdrawal from the race. According to The New York Times, Verhofstadt agreed to support the EPP candidate Tajani in order to prevent the fragmentation of the European Parliament, which would make the institution more vulnerable to anti-European parties.
Image: ©REUTERS
The EP presidential term is two and a half years long. Among the challenges which will be faced by Tajani are consolidating the identity of the European Union and negotiating the Brexit deal. Antonio Tajani will take over from Martin Schulz, who has announced that he would return to German politics.
English – German glossary:
to elect = wählen
press secretary = (hier) Pressesprecher
PM (Prime Minister) = Premierminister
to secure = erwerben
to enable = ermöglichen
withdrawal = Rückzug
to support = unterstützen
to prevent = vermeiden
fragmentation = Zersplitterung
vulnerable = gefährdet
(presidential) term = Amtszeit (des Präsidenten)
to consolidate = festigen
to negotiate = verhandeln
deal = Abkommen
to take over = (die Präsidentschaft) übernehmen
to announce = ankündigen