The European Green Party (EGP) chose German Terry Reintke and Dutchman Bas Eickhout as leading candidates for the EU elections, as an attempt to include southern and eastern candidates in the leadership failed during the party’s electoral congress in Lyon on February 2-4, Euractiv reported.
Against the prospect of gaining 51 seats instead of the 75 won in 2019, the European Greens opted to re-assure themselves with two well-known, established political figures with strong political careers.
German MEP Terry Reintke, co-chair of the Greens in the European Parliament, was elected in the first round with 55.2 per cent of the vote. Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout, also the leading Green candidate, was elected in the second round with 57 per cent of the vote. One delegate explained:
People are scared, it’s a safe choice.
The EGP has welcomed nine new members since 2019, with two more accepted during the electoral congress in Lyon, in a bid to expand the party’s influence and reinforce the green movement in the east and south of Europe. Bas Eickhout stated:
“The biggest problem is that it’s Germany and the Netherlands, it’s not very geographically balanced and diverse. But I think we’ve also shown that we can campaign for the entire Europe. And the message that the Greens are expanding to the south and the east, which is happening … we can bring that [to the campaign]… But it’s true that the two of us are not representing that very well.”
Of the 11 new members, five are from Eastern Europe and six from Southern Europe, but most of them have little political weight in their home countries. Only three of the new parties are projected to make it to the European Parliament after the EU elections, winning one seat each: The Progressives in Latvia, Mozemo in Croatia and Catalonia in Common in Spain.
