The pre-election fever has not yet touched the German reality, although the first posters have made a timid appearance and in the TV talk shows it is clear that the political guests are addressing their electorate. Anyway, on June 9, millions of German voters will go to the polls to send their representatives to the European Parliament. And anyone who claims that he will not “write” the result or that the result will not have weight in the internal political correlations of forces, will not be honest. Much will depend on the candidates themselves and on their degree of recognition, as is the case in each country.

Ursula von der Leyen, Madame Europe

If we want to focus on the main candidates (Spitzenkandidat) of the parties, the most recognizable is undoubtedly Ursula von der Leyen. Before starting her political career she worked as a doctor and raised a family with 7 children. American Forbes recently named her the most “powerful woman in the world”. Former Minister of Defence, Labor and Family Affairs, to limit ourselves to the ministerial chairs, her case has a difference compared to all the other co-candidates. Mrs. von der Leyen is (again) running only for the position of President of the European Commission, after a term of 5 years. How successful it was, opinions differ. During her tenure, the pandemic and the Russian war against Ukraine coincided. von der Leyen traveled all over the world, participated in countless Councils and Summits representing the interests and presenting the demands of the EU. For the deal she made with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the head of the Greek origin Albert Bourla, the Brussels prosecutors investigations began at a critical time for her.

On the occasion of the resignation of von der Leyen’s chosen one, Marcus Pieper, before he even took over as Commissioner for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises with accusations of nepotism and favoritism, the president of the European Commission received criticism. It was even heard that after the elections her term could be brought to an early end, but this is speculation. The fact is that she receives criticism from her like-minded people. Some consider it too “Green”, others that it socially divides the EU. There is also a paradox. Although nominated by her party as the lead candidate, she is not on any electoral roll and therefore has no direct right to vote. Manfred Weber is also running for Spitzenkandidat from the Christian Social Party. For the last 5 years he was the head of the political group of the EPP in the European Parliament and president of the party. Before getting involved in politics, the amateur guitarist studied Physical Engineering at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, specializing in technical environmental protection.

A “Eurofighter” with a passion for Greece

The pre-election race with the colors of the German Social Democrats is led by Katarina Barley. This is the lawyer’s second nomination after the 2019 European elections. 55 years old today, she is the vice-president of the European Parliament. He was Minister of Justice, Family and General Secretary of the SPD. The mother of two has been a member of the SPD since 1994. “I am European to the core,” Barley asserts on her website. Born in Cologne, her mother is German and her father is British. Barley studied, among other places, in Paris. She has campaigned for the rule of law in the European Parliament and attracted attention for her criticism of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. “We must not allow forces to shift to the far right,” he said at a debate following the Social Democrats’ election campaign in Berlin. “We Social Democrats must make the world understand that the stakes of the European elections are high, that the European Union is precious, we must realize what a wonderful thing we have in the European Union, it cannot be taken for granted.” Barley tries to convey her passion for the EU.

Before the EU, 66-year-old Marie-Agnes Strack Zimmerman had and has a lifelong passion for Greece and machines. She took a motorbike down to Greece on one of her annual holiday visits with the whole family, daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren and husband. It descends on the European arena in the colors of the Liberals and is advertised as a “Eurofighter”. The war in Ukraine gave her a lot of recognition as the chairman of the Defense Committee. From the beginning, when all other German politicians were half-assed, she was openly in favor of sending tanks and weapons to Ukraine. Her critical attitude towards Chancellor Soltz in particular bordered on “nervous”, but that’s her style, to say what she wants and not use “pretenders”. In the election campaign he said in clear words that he would take positions against the chancellor. “Now the point is to bring as much of the FDP to Europe as possible – and I cannot take the chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany into account, we have different views, so he is not my chancellor,” he said.

The Green Feminist and the Nazi Nostalgia

From the Green party, Terri Reidtke is an unknown in Germany, but she has often taken actions in Brussels that have embarrassed the coalition in Berlin. A member of the European Parliament since 2014, he “fights for the people of Europe and the climate-neutral modernization of our economy, for more justice and a resilient democracy,” according to the party’s online update. She considers herself a child of the Ruhr region, is a self-confident feminist and an advocate of a strong social policy. She heads the Greens in the European Parliament and has set her sights on winning points for the Greens in the south and east of the EU. If von der Leyen does not become Commission president again, she could theoretically become Germany’s next commissioner. In the past Reidke has mainly appeared as an activist for equal rights and maintains a lesbian relationship with French senator Melanie Vogel. In the case of Green MEP Malte Galle’s recent resignation following reports from Stern magazine, he was recently criticized for not adequately investigating rumors of sexual harassment allegations.

Heading the Alternative for Germany AfD list for the European elections is Maximilian Kra, 46, a lawyer who is backed by the party’s far-right wing. Born in Dresden, he has been a member of the European Parliament since 2019. In 2023 he published a book entitled “Politics from the Right. A Manifesto”. It was published by Gets Kubicek, who, according to the Constitution Protection Agency, is one of the most important representatives of the so-called New Right. Kra has previously been criticized within his own party for his closeness to China. He recently came into the limelight for giving interviews to the pro-Russian online platform “Voice of Europe”, which has been included in the national sanctions list by the Czech cabinet. Here too there would be a Greek “fragrance”. The participation of Greek origin Dimitris Kizoudis in the party’s European ballot paper was discussed, but in the end it was not decided. From 2022, Mr. Kizoudis is a personal political advisor to the president of the party, Tino Krupala.

And the Left has its captain

Leading candidates on the list for the European elections from the Left are party leader Martin Sirdevan along with climate and refugee activist Carola Rackete. Sirdevan is chairman of the German Left Party and already co-head of the GUE/NGL Left Group in the European Parliament. With a PhD in political science, she was born in East Berlin in 1975 and was already a leading candidate in the 2019 European elections. Karola Rackete is politically independent. The 35-year-old captain became internationally known in 2019 when she sailed to the island of Lampedusa on the ship “Sea Watch 3” carrying refugees rescued from danger at sea, despite a ban by Italian authorities.

Former Left Party politician Fabio de Masi and former Social Democratic Party politician Thomas Geisel are emerging as leading candidates for Sarah Wagenknecht’s fledgling party. De Mazie, 44, was an MEP for the Left Party from 2014 to 2017 before moving to the Berlin parliament for the same party, where he left in 2021 and resigned in 2022. The economics graduate made a name for himself as an investigator of financial scandals, including of the Cum-Ex scandal. Thomas Geisel, 60, was mayor of Düsseldorf from 2014 to 2020 and studied law and politics. As long as he was mayor, he maintained close ties with the Greek element of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Irini Anastasopoulou