Head-to-head: Geremek wins on night, but Borrell camp confident

By Martin Banks

Date: 15/07/04

THE war in Iraq and a deal between the European Parliament's two largest parties to share the presidency for the next five years were the main issues of a heated head-to-head debate between the candidates for Parliament's highest post.

The contenders for the presidency of the Parliament confronted each other in public on Tuesday 13 July in a lively debate followed by hundreds of MEPs and Parliament insiders.

Spanish MEP Josep Borrell, the candidate of the 200-strong Party of European Socialists (PES) and the person likely to land the post, was accused of using the Iraq war to win support for his bid to secure the assembly's top job.

He was one of the most vocal campaigners against the war before the Spanish general election in March.

But, during the debate with his main rival for the post, Polish deputy Bronislaw Geremek, he was lambasted for supporting a deal with the pro-war, centre-right European People's Party (EPP-ED), under which he would become president for the first two-and-a half years of the present legislature. An EPP-ED member, probably Hans-Gert Pöttering, would take over in the second part.

Borrell hit back by pointing out that the former Polish foreign minister, whose candidacy for the presidency is backed by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and the Greens, had been a strong supporter of the US-led war.

The pair clashed during a 90-minute debate at the Parliament in which Borrell, Geremek, both newly elected MEPs, and a third candidate, veteran French deputy Francis Wurtz, leader of the left-wing GUE group, were quizzed by a panel of journalists and MEPs.

Borrell, who served in government in the 1980s and 1990s, sparked controversy when he raised the issue of Iraq, and, in particular, Geremek's support for last year's US-led invasion. This led to a fierce attack on Borrell by a newly elected Spanish Liberal deputy, Ignasi Guardans, who told the Catalan that he was using the Iraq issue as a "political tool".

The Barcelona MEP told Borrell: "You have consistently campaigned against the war, yet you are now happy to do a deal with those who supported it. Can we assume this is simply to win power?"

When Geremek, a leading light of the Solidarity trade union movement, pointed out that he had a long history of fighting dictatorships, Borrell replied: "Please - don't let us turn this into a contest over who has suffered most at the hands of tyranny."

Borrell has also come under attack from members of Parliament's smaller groups for "being the product of a deal".

His candidature is supported by the "technical" pact between the PES and EPP-ED to share the presidency.

Liberal and Green members accused Borrell of "betrayal" and insisted that all Left parties, plus the Liberals, could block EPP-ED leader Pöttering's access to the Parliament's presidency in 2007.

Such a Left coalition could have elected Geremek for the first and Borrell for the second term, they say.

Forced to field fierce criticism of the EPP-ED/PES agreement, the Spaniard admitted he would have preferred to have done a deal with any of the assembly's other political groups - "even the communists" - but qualified this by saying: "This proved impossible and it seems some people just cannot accept this."

"Daniel, don't take your wishes for reality," he told Green co-leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit, who claimed Parliament's Left parties would be strong enough to elect the next two presidents.

He added: "It's a secret ballot and members can vote whichever way they want. In any case, this is a purely technical agreement which is nothing new - it has been done many times before."

During the debate, Francis Wurtz said that, if he was eliminated in the first round of voting, he would advise his supporters then to back Borrell.

If confirmed as president by the assembly's 732 MEPs in a vote in Strasbourg next Tuesday (20 July), Borrell will become the first new MEP to hold the post since direct elections were held in 1979.

Both Borrell and Geremek agreed on the need to make Parliament more visible and improve ways of selling its merits to a largely sceptical public, following the poor voter turnout in last month's European elections.

Borrell, sitting alongside outgoing president Pat Cox, won loud applause after pledging that, if elected, his first job would be to revive attempts to push through reform of MEPs' pay and expenses.

At present, there are wide discrepancies in what MEPs are paid and the expenses system is open to abuse.

He said: "A lot rides on this issue. I cannot see any reason at all why MEPs should not be paid the same and have travel costs reimbursed at cost."

A Borrell aide conceded: "Judging by the amount of applause he received, I have to say that Geremek probably won on the night. But we are confident our man will still win next week."

Outgoing Dutch Socialist MEP Michiel van Hulten, of the Campaign for Parliament Reform, which co-hosted the event alongside European Voice, said: "It was an animated debate and a good opportunity to test the candidates' credentials."

Cohn-Bendit said: "Such debates are useful facilitators of political dialogue, particularly in the absence of real Parliamentary debate."

Report of a debate on 13 July 2004 between the two candidates for the Presidency of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell and Bronislaw Geremek.