EU elections top job candidates - Dark Horses

1. ‘Dark-horse’
Candidates
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list of
contenders

2. Christine Lagarde
Managing Director of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Politics Centre-right
Nationality French
Chances Lagarde’s term at the IMF ends
in 2016, but this hasn’t kept her name
from being floated by Brussels’ pundits.
She is widely respected in the
international community and allegedly
has the backing of chancellor Merkel.
She would also be the first woman to
hold the position of EU Commission
president or EU Council president.

3. Pascal Lamy
Former President of the World
Trade Organisation (WTO)
Politics Socialist
Nationality French
Chances Lamy has repeatedly been
mentioned as top contender for
the top position of the EU
executive, amongst others by
former Commission president
Jacques Delors. Some socialists
regard this top figure with
international stature as a secondbest, in case Martin Schulz does
not get confirmed.

4. Dalia
Grybauskaite
President of Lithuania
Politics Centre-right
Chances Formerly being the first
Lithuanian commissioner, and now
the first female head of state of the
Baltic country, Grybauskaitė carries
support in Brussels. Experts argue she
is a top contender to succeed Herman
Van Rompuy as president of the
European Council, rather than to take
on the Commission presidency.

5. Helle
Thorning-Schmidt
Prime Minister of Denmark
Politics Socialist
Chances Representing a non-euro
country that has good relations
with the UK, Thorning-Schmidt
could be a strong contender to
secure a top position for the
socialist political family. She would
also be the first woman to hold
one of both president positions.
One issue: her approval rating at
home is very low.

6. Jyrki Katainen
Prime Minister of Finland
Chances Katainen is deemed a good
candidate by many: he speaks four
languages fluently and masters a
certain political savvy. The domestic
support for his government’s rule is
weak, though. In February, a close
aid confirmed the PM does not
aspire to succeed Barroso, but
Katainen could still serve as a
potential successor to Herman Van
Rompuy, at the helm of the
European Council.

7. Anders Fogh
Rasmussen
Secretary General of NATO
Politics Liberal
Nationality Danish
Chances Rasmussen leaves office
as secretary general of NATO in
July. He is said to look for a new
challenge. His nationality and
political allegiance makes him a
good consensus candidate: he
could pop up when the going gets
tough and leaders fail to reach a
solution.