Renew’s chief Valérie Hayer confirmed as EU liberals’ lead candidate

French President Emmanuel Macron’s closest ally in Brussels, Valérie Hayer, has been confirmed as the third Spitzenkandidat of a Franco-German team that will guide the EU liberals throughout the campaign for June’s EU elections.

Hayer is also the current president of the centrist liberal Renew Europe group in the European Parliament.

The other Spitzenkandidaten – or lead candidates – representing the EU liberals under the ‘Renew Europe Now’ electoral platform, are Germany’s Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, leading the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), and Italian Sandro Gozi, secretary-general of the European Democratic Party (EDP).

The platform will be launched in Brussels on Wednesday (20 March).

The Spitzenkandidaten system allows European parties to put forward a candidate for the European Commission presidency, who then needs to be confirmed by EU leaders and the European Parliament.

According to insiders, the three liberal lead candidates do not aspire to score the top job – nor do they stand a realistic chance – but have rather been chosen to embody Renew Europe’s priorities along the campaign.

However, the German and French liberals have taken over the leadership of the campaign – failing to reflect the Liberals’ presence in the north and east of Europe – with Strack-Zimmermann representing Germany’s FDP, and Hayer and Gozi representing the French liberals, as they are both running under Macron’s Besoin d’Europe coalition.

Although Hayer’s name has been floated for weeks, Renaissance only formally put her name forward on Sunday evening.

The last-minute decision is due to “complications” arising from the need to coordinate three different parties, a high-ranking source of ‘Renew Europe Now’ told Euractiv.

The EU liberals are composed of several factions and interests, including ALDE, the oldest European liberal party, the EDP (European Democratic Party), Macron’s Renaissance, and national parties without EU affiliation. To accommodate all of them, they have had to compromise on three lead candidates.

As president of the Renew Group in the European Parliament, “Valérie represents the continuation of Renew’s work, and can embody well all of the liberals’ priorities during the campaign,” the source added.

An intense campaign ahead

Hayer is facing an intense electoral period: On top of performing her duties as Renew Europe president, she will need to coordinate with the other liberal lead candidates and supervise the national campaign in France, where she will lead Besoin d’Europe, Macron’s coalition for the EU elections, which is trailing the far-right Rassemblement National.

As group president, Hayer will also need to make sure she does not use any resources, funding or staff, from the European Parliament for her campaign.

A draft of Renew Europe Now’s electoral programme, seen by Euractiv, included a strong emphasis on defence, a shift from green regulation to implementation, and the defence of democratic values.

“These elections are crucial. We cannot let populists compromise our common destiny!” Hayer said on Monday after her confirmation.

After she was elected group president in January, she confirmed in an interview with Euractiv that farmers’ concerns will be a centrepiece of the liberals’ campaign, while stressing that she seeks a “balanced view” on agricultural policy and refusing to reopen Green Deal files as demanded by right-wing political forces.

[Edited by Aurélie Pugnet/Zoran Radosavljevic]