Pierre Moscovici, EU commissioner for economic and financial affairs, taxation and customs union, said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag on 2 July that he is interested in the post of EU Commission presidentPictured: Moscovici at the 7th Cohesion Forum, Brussels, 26 and 27 June 2017 (Photo: European Commission)

Pierre Moscovici, EU commissioner for economic and financial affairs, taxation and customs union, said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag on 2 July that he is interested in the post of EU Commission presidentPictured: Moscovici at the 7th Cohesion Forum, Brussels, 26 and 27 June 2017 (Photo: European Commission)

Current EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker (EPP) had announced back in February this year that he would not seek a second mandate after the 2019 European Parliament elections.

There is an unwritten rule that the president of the European commission should belong to the same political party that won the EP elections, which endangers Mosovici’s chances. Currently, the European People’s Party (EPP) has 213 seats, while the group of European socialists and democrats (S&D) has 191 seats.

Social democrats need new ideas

Moscovici is a member of the S&D. The former French finance and economy minister (2012-2014) under President François Hollande recognised, however, that his party family was under strain: “I would not lead a campaign just to campaign, but to win. Europe’s social democracy is in crisis. It lacks cohesion, leadership and ideas. The question is whether we can rebuild that in two years.”

Social democracy should renew itself, said Moscovici. “We should stop portraying the representatives of the centre as traitors and the left as crazies. We need to develop concepts on how to reduce inequality in Europe. We need to show leadership, internationally and in Europe.”