Italian conservative Tajani wins race to head European Parliament
Centre-right politician Antonio Tajani was elected the new president of the European Parliament on Tuesday after defeating his socialist rival, a fellow Italian, in a daylong series of votes.
The new speaker, 63, a former EU commissioner and an ally of former premier Silvio Berlusconi, succeeds German Social Democrat Martin Schulz at a time of crisis for the European Union. Britain wants a divorce deal that needs the legislature's blessing while old adversary Russia and old ally the United States both pose new threats to EU survivors holding together.
Schulz's tenure saw close cooperation with the centre-right head of the EU executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, but ended with recriminations over the end of a left-right grand coalition.
That could spell trouble for the smooth passage of EU laws on a range of issues. And the win for Tajani, who beat centre-left leader and fellow Italian Gianni Pittella by 351 votes to 282 in a fourth-round runoff, gives the right a lock on three pivotal EU political institutions.
That has stirred some calls for change from either Juncker at the European Commission or Donald Tusk, who chairs the European Council of national leaders.
However, there is no clear consensus for such changes.
http://www.france24.com/en/20170117-italian-conservative-tajani-elected-president-european-parliament
