David Sassoli: ‘A great European’ – His possible successor

It causes sadness and pain all over Europe the death of David Sassoli. The Italian politician had won the respect of all as a voice of calm and conciliation, at a time when centrifugal forces and extremist positions in Europe are increasing. “We have lost a great European,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “We will miss his generosity, his cordiality and his smile,” said European Council President Charles Michel. For Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Sassoli was “a symbol of sobriety, humanity and generosity”, qualities that “were appreciated by colleagues from all political groups, across Europe”.

Social Democrat David Sassoli had been elected President of the European Parliament immediately after the 2019 European elections. This did not stop Sassoli from intervening resolutely on the European agenda when he saw fit. Last December, he awarded the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny the Sakharov Prize for Human Rights. He spoke in support of the US Alliance, but said that maintaining some independence was not the answer. In addition, he criticized the European Commission for inaction against the ethno-populist government of Poland and ultimately did not hesitate to appeal to the European Court of Justice against the Commission.

From RAI to the seats of the European Parliament

Born in Florence in 1956, David Sassoli studied political science and worked as a journalist, first for Il Giorno and later for state television RAI. For a time he was a presenter on the main news bulletin of RAI 1. He was first elected to the European Parliament in 2009. “His life was devoted to journalism and politics,” notes the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Earlier, David Sassoli had battled leukemia. He has been facing serious health problems since last autumn. In October he developed a fever and canceled his participation in the European Parliament in Strasbourg at the last minute. He has been hospitalized in Italy since December 26 after “complications in the functioning of the immune system”, the European Parliament announced on Monday.

The possible successor of Sassoli

Who will be his successor? As is often the case after the European elections, Parliament’s two largest political groups, the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Socialists, had already agreed that Social Democrat Sassoli would be succeeded in the middle of his term by a candidate from the European People’s Party. The German Manfred Weber, the current head of the K.O. of the EPP, who, however, has recently clarified that he is not interested in the presidency of the European Parliament.

After all, the most dominant candidate today is considered to be the Maltese Vice President of the Parliament, Roberta Metzola, who is only 42 years old. She is an MEP with an outstanding presence in recent years, who has stood out for her stances on the immigration issue. She will be the first woman president of the European Parliament in 20 years (preceded by Simon Veil and Nicole Fontaine), but also the youngest president in the history of the institution.

Giannis Papadimitriou

Source: Deutsche Welle