Win marks sharp shift to right from centrist coalition that once dominated legislature

Duncan Robinson Italian centre-right MEP Tajani

wins European Parliament presidency Antonio Tajani persuaded liberal and Eurosceptic blocs to back him

yesterday by: Duncan Robinson in Strasbourg

Antonio Tajani was elected president of the European Parliament after a frantic day of dealmaking in Strasbourg in the first competitive race for the position in years.

The centre-right Italian MEP beat his Socialist compatriot Gianni Pittella by 351 votes to 282 in a run-off on Tuesday evening, with Mr Tajani able to convince MEPs from the parliament’s liberal and Eurosceptic rightwing blocs to back him.

The sometimes ill-tempered contest marked the breakdown of the grand coalition between centre-left Socialists and Democrats and centre-right European People’s Party that had divvied up top jobs at the EU institutions since 2014 — and acted as a legislative bulwark against a significant Eurosceptic minority in the parliament.

Although Mr Tajani enjoyed a lead from the first round of voting, it took three more polls before a winner could be determined, with the Socialists making last-minute overtures to other groups.

These promises ranged from plumb positions within the parliament to the political decapitation of Guy Verhofstadt, the parliament’s pointman on Brexit and the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

In the end they were not enough to reduce the lead Mr Tajani established after he reached a deal with Mr Verhofstadt’s liberals on Monday evening. This agreement included a push to give the parliament a bigger say in Brexit negotiations and a tougher line on topics such as the rule of law in some member states.

The result sharply alters the political make-up of the European Parliament, which plays a crucial role in scrutinising EU legislation. It creates an informal alliance between the liberal bloc and Mr Tajani’s European People’s Party, along with the more Eurosceptic rightwing European Conservatives and Reformists, who together ensured Mr Tajani’s election. This marks a sharp shift to the right from the centrist grand coalition that had hitherto dominated the chamber.

In a mammoth 13-hour series of votes and private meetings, Mr Verhofstadt acted as kingmaker, demonstrating a remarkable ideological flexibility. The former Belgian prime minister had started the month by attempting to forge an alliance with Italian political upstart Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement in a bid to boost his own candidacy for the parliament’s top job.

But in the space of a week, the Fleming had thrown his lot in with Mr Tajani, who earned his political stripes as spokesman for Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister. Mr Verhofstadt’s move — which gave the Italian a clear early lead — angered some within his party but was eventually supported by the vast bulk of its members.

Although the rightwing ECR group, which is dominated by the UK’s Conservative party, could have ended the contest in the second round by supporting Mr Tajani straight away, MEPs in the group were reluctant to capitulate without being offered something in return. Neither Mr Pittella nor Mr Tajani appealed ideologically to the group. One official compared it to a disco: “When the lights come on it’s a question of who is the least worst one to go home with.”

Both the Socialists and the EPP made last minute pitches to the ECR. Mr Tajani visited the group on Tuesday afternoon to issue a final plea to the predominantly British and Polish MEPs. When discussing what demands to ask of the Italian politician, one Conservative MEP in the ECR bellowed: “Are you prepared to sack Mr Verhofstadt as Brexit negotiator?” Guy Verhofstadt, centre, played kingmaker between Antonio Tajani, right, and Gianni Pittella, left

In the end, Mr Tajani fudged the topic, insisting that while the Belgian would be “Mr Brexit”, he would be unable to stray beyond the remit set out by the chamber. Mr Tajani also distanced himself from a deal between ALDE and EPP, which promised to take tougher action against countries trampling on the rule of law — a stance that had concerned Poland’s Law and Justice Party. ECR MEPs eventually backed Mr Tajani in the final run-off.

The Italian is likely to be a far lower-key president than his German predecessor, Martin Schulz, who attracted praise — and the occasional charge of self-importance — for unashamedly talking up the European Parliament’s position.

“It will be reduced to another Committee of the Regions,” despaired one assistant from the Socialist camp, raising the spectre of the oft-maligned talking shop for local politicians across the EU.

In his pitch to MEPs on the morning of the votes, Mr Tajani regaled MEPs with his generosity when leaving the European Commission, where he declined €500,000 in severance pay. “It felt to me unfair when so many were suffering that a European commissioner should get such an amount of money,” said the Italian.

But clouds remain from Mr Tajani’s tenure in the commission. He did not dwell on his role in the dieselgate scandal, when the EU’s executive arm failed to investigate thoroughly whether carmakers were cheating on emissions tests. Within parliament, however, Mr Tajani is popular.

Outside the Strasbourg bubble, EU officials worried that the political scrap would make the relationship between Socialists and the EPP — the largest and second-largest parliamentary groups — tricky to repair. How difficult will be evident on Tuesday, when the parliament divvies up its vice-president posts. But one adviser welcomed the change: “For the first time, adversarial politics is entering Europe,” he said. “It’s healthy.”