You can’t make this stuff up – Charles Michel announces that he will not run in the next European elections, ending his mandate at the European Council: Mario Draghi’s candidacy has been burnt, while the chances of seeing Sànchez as his successor are increasing. Michel made the announcement on Facebook, but then decided to block comments. Indeed, there are many who have not understood the motives behind his moves: can one man consistently make strategic mistakes of this magnitude?

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, withdraws from the political race for the next European elections, denying what was announced on January 7th. “I will not be a candidate in the European elections. I will devote all my efforts to my current responsibilities, with firm determination, until their conclusion. I will always be a fervent supporter of a Europe that is democratic, strong, united and in control of its own destiny. At the end of this mandate, I will reflect on the nature and direction of my future commitments,” Michel himself declared in a message published on his Facebook profile. “I entered political life thirty years ago. Since then, I have participated in almost every election in Belgium, at various levels of power: local, provincial and federal. L'Europe It has always held a special place in my heart. I have served our European project with passion and conviction for almost ten years, first as Belgian Prime Minister and then in my current role. It therefore seemed natural to me, as for any leader who wants to continue to serve his country, to present myself to the voters to promote and defend the European project", he then explained in the long message.

The announcement of his candidacy in the next European elections, Michel continued, “has sparked intense media attention and speculation. I had partly foreseen this, given the novel, some would say audacious, nature of my approach. This has also led to extreme reactions – not within the European Council – but outside of it, to the prospect of standing as a candidate in the European elections, shortening my mandate and bringing forward that of my successor by a few months,” he continued in the message. of him. “I do not want this decision to distract us from our mission or endanger this institution and our European project, nor to be exploited in any way to divide the European Council, which I believe must work tirelessly for European unity,” he wrote the President of the European Council again, explaining the reasons that led to the abrupt change of decision. “I welcome all political criticism and legitimate arguments. Of course, every situation has several possible points of view. But personal attacks increasingly take precedence over concrete arguments. I believe this distorts objective democratic discourse. On a personal level, it leads me to reflect on the meaning and impact of my electoral commitment, to which I have dedicated 30 years of my life, not only for myself but also for those close to me. For all these reasons, and to maintain the focus of my mission, I will not be a candidate in the European elections,” he concluded.