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The two main EPP candidates for the presidency of the European Commission, MEP Manfred Weber and former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, clashed on Wednesday night (7 October) in an attempt to obtain support for the day of Thursday (November 8th). vote on who should lead the party in the European elections next year.
But the meeting was a bit of a business without incident.
"I think it was a good debate, more like a discussion by the fire. I felt very comfortable and I hope Manfred did the same, "Alex Stubb told EURACTIV before leaving the conference center for a high-level dinner in Helsinki .
But by the fireside, nobody was a little burnt: the confrontation never warms up and the two pretenders are even praised.
Immediately after the debate, Weber told EURACTIV that PPE had shown its willingness to lead a democratic debate on the future of Europe.
"We are doing this internally: the EPP is a positive example," he said, adding that Europe needed to take greater advantage of the "Brussels black box" and discuss ways to increase the participation of citizens.
"People are watching us, people are watching us and interest is growing," he said.
Although the only debate in the campaign has raised great expectations, the lack of lively confrontation has left a bitter taste, as the duo, each on different political platforms, are clashing on a number of fundamental issues.
Clashes avoided
The debate, moderated by Mairead McGuiness, Vice-President of the Irish EPP, presented different points of view on how to fight against populism.
"From the inside, the key question is how we can respond to populism and extremism in Europe. For me, the solution is to restore the link between citizens, to take into account their concerns, "said Weber during the debate, adding that it would represent a recipe against populism.
"A lot of people are talking about the emergence of populism. I agree, but we should not accuse people of voting for populists, "said Stubb.
"We should really look in the mirror and think: what did we do wrong in 2008 and in 2015?", He said from the scene, looking more at the mistakes of politicians than voters.
Stubb has respected his liberal agenda by rallying his vision of Europe, which includes principles such as the leading role in "establishing international rules for a future world of artificial intelligence and intelligence". robot. "
Otherwise, Weber has expressed some concerns about the social impact of the technology. "We must give an answer to people who feel threatened by job losses due to these technological changes."
On equally substantive issues, Stubb's strong concentration on "values" goes against the "spirit of compromise" that would lead to a theoretical presidency of the Bavarian politician in the Commission.
"We must also solve the problem of climate change," Stubb said, while Weber did not address any environmental issues when he was asked about European farmers, focusing only on food security and reducing dependency vis-à-vis external partners.
But when there was talk of internal threats to Europe, they both avoided mentioning the elephant in the room, Hungary.
Manage migration
While Weber is widely regarded as the winner of Thursday's contest, Tuesday's debate highlighted some shortcomings in his package of measures, which is unclear.
For example, on migration, Weber spoke in general terms about the reconquest of border control, while Stubb was more exhaustive in enumerating three concrete actions that he intends to implement if he becomes president of the Commission.
Stubb's position includes managing migration not by "building walls" or "raising fear" but by "investing in growth and jobs" abroad – in conflict with the more conservative Weber , who presented himself as more inflexible on the issue.
Weber has sought the support of many supporters of the right-wing EPP spectrum, leaders such as Hungarians Viktor Orban and Austrian Sebastian Kurz having expressed their support for German.
While Stubb recognized the need to appeal to a church-boarder, showing his multilingual skills, he remembered the experience he had gained when he was Finnish Prime Minister.
The two men will participate in the vote by secret ballot that will take place Thursday morning (November 8). They will also give short speeches to delegates about why they should win the nomination.
