Weber’s heir apparent is himself.
German politician Manfred Weber will run unopposed for another three-year term atop Europe’s largest and most powerful faction, the center-right European People’s Party.
It’s a decisive victory for Weber after a power struggle within the center-right political family.
Weber’s broad reign over both the European umbrella party and the EPP group in the European Parliament is set to become even more deeply entrenched, despite concerns about the conflict of interest implicit in his dual role, as well as his overtures to hard-right figures like Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Weber, a longstanding German lawmaker in the Parliament and a political ally of Ursula von der Leyen, helped oversee her re-election as European Commission president last year. He’s also in charge of enacting von der Leyen’s agenda in the Parliament.
But Weber’s lack of opposition shouldn’t be interpreted as a sign of his popularity, cautioned a senior EPP official, who said those prime ministers who could step in to block Weber’s second term simply can’t be bothered.
“Nobody wanted him in 2022, nobody wants him now, but nobody wants to pick up the phone and deal with the issue. It’s too small an issue. They don’t care,” said the official, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal party dynamics. Weber has been president of the EPP since 2022 and chairman of the EPP group since 2014.
“Which tells a lot about the importance of the party. The importance of the party has diminished,” the official added.
No other candidates within the European Union’s most powerful political bloc have raised their hands ahead of an EPP party congress in Valencia in April, leaving the path clear for Weber to lock down control of both the party and its group in the Parliament.
The Italian, Swedish, Austrian, Romanian and Dutch delegations told POLITICO they will vote in favor of a second term for Weber as the party’s leader. Croatian and Portuguese officials have also indicated they will likely support him.
Weber’s supporters defended the Bavarian conservative.
“Manfred has made the EPP stronger than ever,” said Swedish lead lawmaker Tomas Tobé.
For Weber, who spent much of his career as a member of the European Parliament and who was slighted by the bloc’s leaders in 2019 when gunning for the job of leading the EU executive, a second term will cement his power on the EU stage.
For the EPP it’s also a step toward consolidating power across the EU’s key institutions, especially with a proposal for party reform, obtained by POLITICO, scheduled for ratification at the Valencia congress.
“While party politics has been a connector between the institutions, there was never such clear dominance of one of the parties across all the institutions … for Weber that is a great chance,” said Sophia Russack, researcher at the Centre of European Policy Studies.
Weber’s time to shine — or not
Despite a major challenge last year from another EPP power player, Greek Secretary General Thanasis Bakolas, Weber will likely be reappointed with a sweeping majority.
The naysayers include the Greeks, who support Bakolas, and the Spaniards, who are still sore about Weber’s approving Spain’s pick of Socialist Teresa Ribera for commissioner. For them the EPP president has some bargaining chips, one party official noted.
Still, another one of Weber’s critics cautioned against taking any drastic action.
“We won’t start now setting the party on fire, there will be continuity” said another EPP official, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.
If all else fails, Weber can use the 10 vice presidencies and a secretary general post in exchange for support.
The German Christian Democrat spent much of his first term solidifying the party’s dominance, cozying up to hard-right figures like Meloni and taking tougher stances on new green laws than von der Leyen.
During his second term Weber will aim to influence decisions across EU institutions, including those of Commission chief von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and EPP-linked heads of state in the European Council.
“The EPP has successfully confirmed and strengthened its position at the heart of European decision-making,” said a draft of the party reform. “We want to utilize the party’s strengths to the fullest.”
But European political parties, including the almighty EPP, have traditionally been little more than glorified talking shops for national parties, as power remains siloed in the respective institutions rather than spread across a dominant political force.
Still, some members are optimistic.
“With this reform, we are going to set the tone,” said EPP Vice President Siegfried Mureșan, who leads the EPP’s reform task force composed of national party delegates.
In reality, Weber’s time to shine may be coming to an end, Russack argued, forcing him to compete with EPP member and German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz for attention.
Russack said the current leadership of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic government “gave Weber a lot of space.”
“Merz has immediately shown quite a strong presence on the European level … It’s two big egos, [which] would take a bit of limelight from Weber,” Russack said.
