Rumours in Finnish media speculate that the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament want Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin to be their leading candidate in the 2024 European Elections.
According to the reports, which were first leaked by the Maaseudun Tulevaisuus, the S&D Group is also envisioning Marin as the next President of the Commission. The Finnish prime minister is seen as an untarnished candidate after the recently revealed corruption allegations and attempts by Qatar to influence decision-making.
Marin’s liberal values combined with a hard line against Russia are seen as a winning combination, possibly attracting support also from other parliamentary groups and from the Eastern and Western Member States.
”In the Parliament and Brussels in general, Marin is considered as an exceptional political superstar unaffected by scandals and who is also popular over national borders especially because of her statements concerning Ukraine,” told the unnamed source, said to be close to socialists inside the Commission, to Maaseudun Tulevaisuus newspaper.
During the ever more heated Finnish election campaign, Marin herself has not commented on the rumour in any way. Whether she would find a move to Brussels interesting may be found only after the 2 April elections.
(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
