European elections: Social Democrats nominate Nicolas Schmit

The Social Democrats are running in the European elections with an EU Commissioner from Luxembourg: Nicolas Schmit. All of the preferred candidates had declined. Meanwhile, everyone at the EPP is waiting for Ursula von der Leyen to explain herself.

LOf course, the European Social Democrats have not tried to find a “common candidate for the presidency of the EU Commission”. This was palpable on Thursday when the application deadline for the top candidate in the European elections had expired. A party spokesman initially did not even want to say how many candidates had registered. First, a working group must come together “to check whether the candidacy or candidacies meet all the necessary conditions,” he told the FAZ. Many hours later the confirmation came: apart from Nicolas Schmit, EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, no one had applied.

Schmit was nominated by his Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party and made this known last week. The Party of European Socialists (PES) said he met all the requirements and received broad support. He is also supported by the Spanish Socialists and the SPD, whose board approved the candidacy on Monday. The 70-year-old Luxembourger is to be elected at a party conference in Rome at the beginning of March.