8 minutes agoEU elections: Old and New Names -- Von der Leenen, António Costa
Periskopi(2 years ago)
(2 years ago)Photo: Nick Gammon/John Threes/ AFP/Getty Images White for the appointment of Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president. And António Costa is expected to come to the helm of the EU Council. Interestingly, the Portuguese career was considered complete. It appears that before the EU summit, Ursula von der Leyeen has the guaranteed appointment. Negociators [...]
Photo: Nick Gammon/John Threes/ AFP/Getty Images
The deal on the appointment of Ursula von der Leyeen as European Commission president. And António Costa is expected to come to the helm of the EU Council. Interestingly, the Portuguese career was considered complete.
It appears that before the EU summit, Ursula von der Leyeen has the guaranteed appointment. Negotiators of European People's Partys, Social Democrats and Liberals agreed on this prior to the EU summit, German news agency dpa reported. However, von der Leyen is not yet guaranteed the post. It needs an absolute majority of 361 out of 720 deputies in the European Parliament. PEPs, Social Democrats and liberals have a joint majority in parliament, but it is possible to fail to vote for von der Leyen, as there is no such thing as forcing the parliamentary group to vote. But this will be known at the founding session of the new European Parliament in July in Strasbourg.
Even for the post of head of the EU Council, there is a name. António Costa, former Portuguese prime minister. But who is António Costa?
In Portugal it is called “political animals”. Indeed, António Costa has dedicated much of his life to politics. In 1974, as a youth, he experienced the Karafile Revolution against dictatorship, then activated in the Socialist youth organization, as a law student, he practiced in the president's cabinet, Jorge Sampaio. António Costa has been a Portuguese MP, Eurodeputs and minister. He was mayor of Lisbon and in 2015, Portuguese prime minister. In 2022 the Portuguese re-elected him with absolute order, but in November 2023, a corruption scandal forced him out of politics. The prosecution was referring to “of the influence”.
It was November 7th morning when Portuguese prosecutors rang the bell with a warrant for Palace de São Bento, the official residence of the Portuguese prime minister in Lisbon. It was one of a total of 42 raids on ministries, company headquarters, municipality and private homes. Five people were arrested, including Costa's office chief Vítor Escária.
Costa reacted within a day. A few hours later, he resigned to President Marcelo Rebello de Soussa. Speaking to the media, he expressed surprise at the news that a criminal case has been opened to him. But of course it is “willing to co-operate with the judiciary so that the whole truth can be brought to light”. At the same time, he announced he would not run in early parliamentary elections and that he wanted to focus on proving his innocence.
Portugal's Socialists also see Ursula von der Leeyen as a good president for the European Commission as her Spanish party friends. With the Ursula von der Leenen and Costa, Iberics hope for less severe criteria in returning to budgetary discipline, which may gradually reduce good current economic development. As prime minister, Costa ended the austerity savings policies with a successful economic stimulus programme. And von der Leeyen could finally hope for a true partner at the helm of the EU Council, as former Council President Charles Michel had emerged more and more openly as her rival. /DW/
