Five key figures

AFP

AS the clock counts down to the European Parliament elections that start Thursday, here are five key figures in the battle, from archeurosceptic Nigel Farage to French President Emmanuel Macron. ●Farage, veteran eurosceptic. Nicknamed “Mr Brexit” by his friend Donald Trump, veteran eurosceptic Nigel Farage, 55, has been an MEP since 1999, first for the UK Independence Party (UKIP), then as an independent and latterly for his new Brexit Party.

Farage was for many years at the vanguard of the campaign for Britain to leave the EU. During his two decades in the European Parliament that position has moved from the fringe to the heart of government policy. ●Salvini, Italian populist. The populist strongman of the Italian government deputy PM Matteo Salvini aims to unite a nationalist group in the European Parliament with his French ‘friend’ Marine Le Pen. The 46-year-old Milanese entered the European Parliament in 2004 and left in 2018 after coming to power in Italy.

Equipped with a strong team of young social media specialists, Salvini’s party is predicted to get around 30 percent of votes in Italy.

●Orban’s populist wave. With poll ratings of 57 percent for his party Fidesz, Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister since 2010, is about to strengthen his grip on his country and his status as a key figure of the European far right.

Suspended by the centre-right European People’s Party grouping because of his attacks on Brussels, Orban does not want to leave the EU, which pays Hungary substantial sums in structural funds.

●Europe’s defender Macron. French President Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017 on a proEuropean platform and has consistently called for a “revival of Europe”, positioning himself as the number one opponent of the populists.

Macron hopes to reshuffle the centrists at the European Parliament. He wants a common eurozone budget and a European finance minister and less dependence on the United States for defence and is in favour of a strong and coherent ‘European identity’.

●Sanchez, the socialist hope After winning snap national elections at the end of April, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is the only social democrat in power in a major EU country and should emerge stronger from Sunday’s European poll.