Antonio Tajani is now the candidate of the European right for the presidency of the European Parliament.
During a press conference organised in Strasbourg this morning, he was particularly vague and ambiguous about his relations with the extreme right and in particular with the ENF Group. Mr Tajani did not respond to the question: as candidate for the presidency of the European Parliament, will you accept the votes of the extreme right?
Pervenche Berès MEP, the S&D Group’s spokesperson for economic and monetary affairs and president of the French socialists and radicals, called on him to clarify his position:
“Does he go by the maxim “Paris is worth a mass”? That is to say, do the ends justify the means? Accepting the support of the European extreme right would be an indelible stain on the party that presents itself as the heirs of De Gasperi, Schuman and Spaak.
“This kind of political manoeuvring has no place in our institution: we do not play with fire. We call on the European right – starting with Mr Lamassoure and Mr Weber – to take up their responsibilities and to prevent the kind of back-room shenanigans that would further damage the European project in the eyes of our fellow citizens.“