And whereas his U-turn might have been unpopular, European leaders will now get to concentrate on the choice to help Ukraine reasonably than discussing succession plans, as Michel will keep on till the tip of November as an alternative of taking on his European Parliament seat in mid-July.
Those that defend him say there was little strain anyway. Michel staying “doesn’t make a distinction. He wasn’t leaving now anyway,” stated a 3rd diplomat. “Operating for elections is what they [politicians] do.”
Nonetheless, Michel’s announcement earlier this month fired the firing gun on the European high jobs race. European capitals have now actively been pondering (in the event that they weren’t already) about easy methods to distribute the highest jobs on the European Council, Fee, Parliament, and the EU’s diplomatic service after the European election in June.
Mette Frederiksen, the present socialist prime minister of Denmark, is a reputation that continues to be floated round Brussels. For some, she is seen as too right-wing on migration, however that may very well be a political plus if the European Parliament swings extra to the fitting, as is anticipated.
However Southern European socialists nonetheless hope Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, who was the frontrunner to exchange Michel, shall be untouched by a corruption investigation that compelled his authorities to resign.
One other identify being repeated in Brussels is former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who has been tasked with drawing up a report on the way forward for the only marketplace for European leaders.