Buttoned-up and with a taste for political intrigue, Manfred Weber has quietly emerged as one of the most powerful men on the European political stage.
The German politician has long headed the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political group in the EU, despite being largely unknown to the general public.
Not so within the corridors of the European Parliament, where even rivals acknowledge that he is now the “kingmaker.”
Photo: AFP
That is only to be expected, as he has “the chance to be today” the president of the biggest party in Europe, Weber said in an interview.
His latest big win came on Wednesday, as lawmakers approved the new European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen for her second term.
Weeks of political horse-trading resulted in all 27 commission members — most of them from the EPP — passing their confirmation hearings. This despite strong opposition to Raffaele Fitto, of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, being entrusted with a commission vice presidency.
“For me that is a good day,” Weber told journalists ahead of the vote in Strasbourg.
Fitto said that he represents a moderate wing that needs courting rather than shunning.
“I want to split them, I want to split between the real hardcore right extreme” of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD), French National Assembly Deputy Marine le Pen and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, “and the serious conservatives,” he said.
Putting Meloni and the AfD “into the same basket” is a “big mistake,” he said.
The approach has not won him many friends, with some lawmakers accusing him of being deliberately ambiguous for political gain.
“Manfred Weber is having a lot of fun,” said France’s Manon Aubry, cohead of the Left group in the EU parliament, who says her German colleague seeks alliances to his left or right depending on the interest of the day.
An EU lawmaker since 2004 and head of the EPP since 2014, Weber has long been champing at the bit to reach the level of influence he enjoys today.
In 2019 he was angling to become commission president, but lost out to Von der Leyen — something some believe he is still bitter about.
“You are not sitting there ... and that is why you are upset,” Orban said during a parliamentary session this year, pointing to Von der Leyen’s seat.
Weber said that is water under the bridge, adding: “2019 is a long time ago.”
“The most important decisions in Europe are today done not in the national capitals anymore, but in Brussels and Strasbourg,” he said.
FLYBY: The object, appears to be traveling more than 60 kilometers per second, meaning it is not bound by the sun’s orbit, astronomers studying 3I/Atlas said Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through the solar system — only the third-ever spotted, although scientists suspect many more might slip past unnoticed. The visitor from the stars, designated 3I/Atlas, is likely the largest yet detected, and has been classified as a comet, or cosmic snowball. “It looks kind of fuzzy,” said Peter Veres, an astronomer with the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, which was responsible for the official confirmation. “It seems that there is some gas around it, and I think one or two telescopes reported a very short tail.” Originally known as A11pl3Z before
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 earthquakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said yesterday. There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a magnitude 5.1 quake that struck overnight, said Toshima Mayor Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. However, the almost nonstop jolts since June 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 had evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another
RSS