Graham Watson loses and EuroparlTV interviews Jerzy Buzek

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I have already written some words about Jerzy Buzek, but now that the Liberal Graham Watson has withdrawn from the race, it is sure that Buzek will be elected EP president next week.

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If you read ELDR's press release, they are hiding their cowardice and strive for parliamentary power (see Jean Quatremer on the committee deals here and here) in the last line, but they cannot hide that Watson's campaign for the EP presidency has gloriously failed.

This is also a personal loss for Watson: Now with his group leadership passed to Guy Verhofstadt and, if I am not mistaken, without a committee chair, Watson will very likely disappear in the darkness of the European Parliament's day-to-day work. Maybe he'll get a smaller post in ALDE or the ELDR.

But another one can shine: Jerzy Buzek.

Once a Solidarność leader and a Polish prime minister, re-elected as MEP and prevailing over his internal EPP competitor Mario Mauro as well as over Watson, he will now become the next president of the European Parliament.

In the EuroparlTV interview he is still very reluctant to show his joy - he is politician enough to wait until he is elected - but you can witness a very relaxed person with a lot of life experience:



We will have to see what kind of president he wil be - in front of the European Greens he was asking for more lively debates in the European Parliament - but he cannot be more boring than his predecessor Hans-Gert Pöttering...

European Parliament elections 2009 (44): European Liberals hope for around 100 seats

In an interview with EUobserver, Graham Watson, leader of the Liberals (ALDE) in the European Parliament, and their candidate for EP president, has said that he hopes that his group will have at least 100 seats (=13.6% of all 736 seats) after the 2009 elections, equalising the score of the last polls (103 seats = 13.1% of all 785 seats).

Sounds rather modest for someone, who wants to be EP President, doesn't it?

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Under the category "European parliament elections 2009" I am following up national and European activities on the path to the European Parliament elections 2009.

For an overview over all articles in this category have a look at the overview article.

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EP Elections 2009 (34): European Liberals (ALDE) want British Graham Watson to be the next European Parliament President

They don' see the chance to get the post of the President of the European Commission. But now they have found something new.

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in the European Parliament has announced in a press release that it wants its group leader Graham Watson to become the next President of the European Parliament.

In fact, this is truly the only major EU post that is exclusively chosen and elected by the European Parliament, so there is some sense in running for this post. It is also the only realistic chance for ALDE to get a major post at all.

But who is this Graham Watson?

I have to say that I saw him some two years ago during a conference in the European Parliament, but he did not leave a particular impression on me, which might not be his fault since I was in a rush and he seemed in a rush, not the perfect occasion to leave an impression. I think I have seen him at another event somewhere in the Union, but I don't remember him particularly.

So let's have a look at we can get about him:

• He is English (i.e. British).
  
• He is a liberal.
  
• He is in the European Parliament for 15 years (three periods).
  
• He has some kind of blog and some kind of videoblog (also published on Youtube).
  
• He was the Chairman of the EP's Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs.
  

I think that is enough about him. He has not been particularly interesting for the European public, I suppose, but he's better than nothing.

The youth wing of the European Liberal Party (called LYMEC) not surprisingly supports this initiative, especially since they have demanded a personalisation of the European election process.

To be honest: Watson's chances are pretty low, taking into account that the Socialists and Conservatives (i.e. the PES and the EPP) will most probably make the same deal as last time sharing the position of the EP president between these two major groups during the next five years. Yet, Pat Cox proved that it is not impossible for an ELDR politician to get into this position, so campaigning for Mr Watson is at least a sign of some kind of ambition.

Nevertheless, it is rather a lack of ambition by the Liberals not to put forward an own candidate for the next European Commission presidency, an opportunity lost at the last Congress of the European Liberal Party.

Taking Mr Watson as candidate for EP presidency is just a small sign of politicisation of the European elections, not more and not less.

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Under the category "Tracking: European parliament elections 2009" I am following up national and European activities on the path to the European Parliament elections 2009.

For an overview over all articles in this category have a look at the overview article.

For the five newest post see also the sidebar.