The centre left’s lead candidate in upcoming EU elections has ruled out forming a majority with the far left or far right.
Nicolas Schmit, the European employment commissioner, told the Financial Times that The Left was too unreliable for his centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group to join an alliance. He repeated his group’s warnings against Ursula von der Leyen striking a deal with the hard right in order to secure a second term as European Commission president.
The S&D is expected to come second in elections for the European parliament on Sunday, and its votes will be crucial for von der Leyen, who needs a majority in the 720-strong assembly, to start another five-year term.