The European elections will take place on June 9th. Here you can read which German top candidates are running.
On June 9th, all citizens of Germany who are eligible to vote are invited to cast their vote in the 2024 European elections. The election campaign focuses on important issues such as climate change, global crises and migration.
In this article we take a detailed look at the German top candidates for the 2024 European elections, their political priorities and visions for Europe.
Since the last European elections in 2019, the political climate has changed noticeably both within Germany and throughout the European Union. Topics such as dealing with the pandemic, climate change and migration have had a lasting impact on the political landscape and significantly shape the political programs of the parties. The upcoming European elections are particularly important as they will determine which political forces and ideas will determine EU policy in the coming years.
Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) – The EU Commission President: As the current EU Commission President, von der Leyen brings a lot of experience with her. However, she cannot be elected directly – although she was proposed by her party as the top candidate. The reason: She is running for the office of EU Commission President again.
Manfred Weber (CSU) – The experienced one: In addition to von der Leyen, Manfred Weber in particular brings a lot of knowledge with him when it comes to work in Strasbourg or Brussels. Among the German top candidates, he has been a member of the EU Parliament for the longest time – since 2004. The qualified engineer is the parliamentary group and party leader of the European People’s Party (EPP), the association of bourgeois-conservative parties in the EU Parliament.
Katarina Barley – Vice President of the EU Commission: Katharina Barley was already the SPD’s top candidate in the 2019 European elections. However, the SPD was not at all successful in this election. The party slipped from 27.3 to 15.6 percent (in 2015). She wants to focus on democracy issues in the election and is putting pressure on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who repeatedly blocks financial aid for Ukraine.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann – The Liberal Voice: Strack-Zimmermann represents the FDP and stands for liberal, business-friendly policies. She advocates more freedom and less bureaucracy for entrepreneurs. She already attracted attention in the Bundestag with her combative nature and has already spoken out against one or two members of the Bundestag.
Terry Reintke – The Green Hope: Reintke runs for the Greens and is passionate about climate protection, equality and social justice. She is the top candidate of the German Greens and with the Dutch Bas Eickhout she forms the green duo of the European Greens.
Other top candidates:
Maximilian Krah – AfD
Martin Schirdewan and Carola Rackete – The Left
Fabio De Masi and Thomas Geisel – Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht
Christine Singer – Free Voters
Martin Sonneborn and Sibylle Berg – The Party
Manuela Ripa – ÖDP
Helmut Geuking – Family Party Germany
Damian Boeselager, Nela Riehl, Kai Tegethoff and Rebekka Müller – Party Volt
Anja Hirschel – Pirate Party