German Chancellor warns of rise of right-wing populists in European elections

by times news cr

2024-04-09 00:13:03

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned on Saturday of the threat posed by right-wing populists, just months before the European Parliament elections, when speaking at a meeting of European center-left parties.

“Right-wing populists are carrying out electoral campaigns against our united Europe”, highlighted the German leader, who is in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, for a conference of the Party of European Socialists, the second largest in the European Parliament.

Opinion studies indicate a shift to the right in the upcoming European elections, with the radical right group Identity and Democracy likely to gain enough seats to become the third largest group in the legislature, mainly at the expense of The Greens and the centrist group Renew Europe .

“They arouse feelings against refugees and minorities”

“They are ready to destroy what we have built for children. They arouse feelings against refugees and minorities”, said Olaf Scholz, for whom a prosperous European Union, capable of “getting things done”, is “the best response to populism and autocrats”.

At this meeting, Scholz also promised continued support for Ukraine, claiming that this is “key to restoring peace in Europe”.

The meeting came after the EU’s largest political group, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), also met in Bucharest last month, where representatives endorsed Ursula von der Leyen’s candidacy for a second term. five years at the head of the bloc’s Commission.

At the beginning of March, Ursula von der Leyen was named the EPP’s main candidate for the European elections in June, to seek re-election as head of the institution, with 400 votes in favor.

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Currently, the European Parliament is made up of seven political groups, the EPP being the largest of them, followed by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the group of the Party of European Socialists (PES).

Nicolas Schmit nominated as ‘top candidate’

Under the PES, the current Luxembourgish European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, was named ‘Spitzenkandidat’ of the socialist political family in June’s European elections.

The figure of main candidates – in the German term ‘Spitzenkandidat’ – emerged in the 2014 European elections, with the largest European parties presenting their choices for future president of the European Commission.

2024-04-09 00:13:03

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