Buzek president, for the first half

Poland’s Jerzy Buzek will almost certainly become the next president of the European Parliament, reports Polish daily Rzeczpospolita. His nomination seems a foregone conclusion after the Parliament’s two largest groups, the Socialists and the Christian Democrats, agreed on the matter earlier this week. ‘In the first half of the term, the assembly will be presided over by a Christian Democrat, in the second – by a socialist,’ says Tony Robinson, spokesperson for the Socialist group in the European Parliament.

Following the resignation of his main rival, Italy’s Mario Mauro, Mr Buzek stands a good chance of being elected. According to Rzeczpospolita’s calculations, with the Christian Democrats and the Socialists supporting him, Mr Buzek can count on some 447 votes in the 736-seat assembly. The Parliament will elect its new president during its inaugural session in Strasbourg next week. According to Rzeczpospolita, the Pole should also be supported by the Liberals, who ‘have nothing against his candidacy,’ as well as by MEPs from the new member states in the smaller groups, for whom Mr Buzek’s election, as the first President hailing from a former Communist country, would be a ‘symbol of the changes that have taken place in the EU five years after enlargement."