There is little change in sight for the presidency of the majority group in the assembly – the EPP-ED. Joseph Daul (France) has every chance of seeing his mandate renewed, according to several parliamentary sources.

In any case, he has no rivals at this stage. Íñigo Méndez de Vigo (Spain) could, at one time, have been a potential opponent, the Spanish EPP-ED delegation being one of the most important (24 seats). An outspoken, charismatic figure, Méndez de Vigo was co-rapporteur on the draft European Constitution. But, in the end, it was not to be. Daul could therefore be re-elected, on 9 June, by acclamation, unlike in January 2007, when he succeeded Hans-Gert Pöttering (Germany), who became president of the Parliament.

On that occasion, three other candidates then entered the fray, standing “privately”. They were Othmar Karas (Austria), vice-president and treasurer of the EPP-ED, Gunnar Hökmark (Sweden), sitting in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Antonio Tajani (Italy), a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and today transport commissioner. Jaime Mayor Oreja (Spain) was already out of the running. Joseph Daul, until then chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, was finally elected after three secret ballots. This was a first – the EPP-ED even had to amend its internal regulations to handle the situation since these only foresaw one electoral system: acclamation. Daul had received the personal support of Hans-Gert Pöttering, as well as the German Conservatives as a whole, the latter being very close to this Alsatian and fluent German speaker. This support should be renewed in June.

After two and a half years at the head of the largest group, Daul, aged 62, however, intended to return home to devote more time to his family. But the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, gently advised him, in person, against doing so, anxious to keep one of his own in this very influential European Parliament post. As a result, Daul is expected to set out for another round and take over the reins of the group, at least for half the legislature.