The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will elect its next secretary general on June 25. Until now, Alain Berset was in pole position in the election, recalls the “NZZ am Sonntag”. And he could count on the support of Emmanuel Macron, and the French delegation sitting in Brussels. However, the dissolution of the French National Assembly by the French president and the organization of new elections after the failure of his party in the European elections could change the situation.
French parliamentarians, rather favorable to a French-speaking candidate and including many Macronists, have in fact simultaneously lost their mandate in Paris and their seat in Strasbourg. This while the team of the former federal councilor was counting on their firm support during the election, as well as that of the British delegation. However, his participation has not been confirmed either, following the surprise announcement of new elections by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last May. It is therefore likely that many Britons will stay away from the election in Strasbourg.
The tension will therefore remain high until we know, on June 25, which of the three candidates – Alain Berset, the Estonian Indrek Saar or the Belgian Didier Reynders – will be the new Secretary General of the Council of Europe, concludes the Sunday newspaper.
In Switzerland, however, a small highlight of Alain Berset’s campaign is still planned. On the Sunday before the elections, Switzerland invites a party to the residence of the Swiss ambassador in Strasbourg. The invited European parliamentarians will be able to speak personally with the former federal councilor. It remains to be seen whether this will be able to compensate for the possible absence of the French and the British, concludes the “NZZ am Sonntag”.
“Not good news at all”
“It’s not at all good news for us,” said national councilor Pierre-Alain Fridez (PS/JU) about the consequences of the political upheavals in France and Great Britain for the election in Strasbourg. And his colleague Roland Rino Büchel (UDC/SG) warns: “The missing votes of the British and French could be decisive in the election.”
As for the British and French delegations in Strasbourg (a total of 36 members, representing 10% of the approximately 300 parliamentarians in the Council of Europe), they did not respond to questions from the “NZZ am Sonntag” on this subject. But within the Swiss delegation in Strasbourg, it is rather expected that both delegations will not go there in full.
