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Election of the President of European Conservatives and Reformists was held on 8 March 2011. Election was held after the previous president Michal Kaminski quit the group. Candidates included Czech MEP Jan Zahradil, British MEP Timothy Kirkhope and Polish MEP Ryszard Legutko. Kirkhope was considered the favourite to become the new president as the Conservative Party dominated the group. He was defeated by Zahradil who became the new president.
Background
Michal Kaminski was elected the President of European Conservatives and Reformists in 2009. He was a member of the Polish Law and Justice party. His party was accused of far-right politics. He resigned in January 2011 after having faced 'aggression' and 'hatred' from his colleagues in the party.
On 28 January 2011, member of Czech Civic Democratic Party Jan Zahradil announced his candidacy. Zahradil started to seek support for his candidacy. He stated that he would try to attract more deputies to the group and improve its communication strategy if he becomes the new president. Zahradil was supported by the Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas.
Timothy Kirkhope stated on the same day that he might seek Conservative Party nomination for the president.
Polish MEP Ryszard Legutko announced his candidacy on 17 February 2011. His candidacy has put the Law and Justice party on a collision course with British MEPs. Legutko's candidacy caused controversy due to his views on Gay rights.
Candidates
- Timothy Kirkhope, British MEP and member of Conservative Party. He was the most Pro-European candidate and the least controversial. He is a former Minister of British government and an experienced politician.
- Ryszard Legutko, Polish MEP and a member of Law and Justice. His candidacy was considered very controversial, and he is known for negative opinions of homosexual rights.
- Jan Zahradil, Czech MEP and member of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). He is known to be a protégé of the Czech President Vaclav Klaus and the leading climate change denier in the Parliament. He actively promoted documentary ‘The Great Global Warming Swindle’.
ECR Group members
All 54 MEPs who were members of ECR were allowed to vote.
| Party | Country | MEPs |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative Party (CP) |  United Kingdom |
25 / 54 |
| Law and Justice (PiS) |  Poland |
15 / 54 |
| Civic Democratic Party (ODS) |  Czech Republic |
9 / 54 |
| Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance (LLRA) |  Lithuania |
1 / 54 |
| For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK (TB/LNNK) |  Latvia |
1 / 54 |
| List Dedecker (LDD) |  Belgium |
1 / 54 |
| Christian Union (CU) |  Netherlands |
1 / 54 |
| Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) |  Hungary |
1 / 54 |
| Overall |  European Union |
54 / 736 |
Voting
| Candidaty | Party | Country | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan Zahradil | Civic Democratic Party (ODS) | Czech Republic
|
36 | 66.67% | |
| Timothy Kirkhope | Conservative Party (CP) | United Kingdom
|
18 | 33.33% | |
| Ryszard Legutko | Law and Justice (PiS) | Poland
|
withdrawn | ||
Legutko withdraw from the election in last minutes. Kirkhope was expected to win majority of 54 MEPs but he received only 18 votes while Zahradil 36. Zahradil thus became the new president.
Afterwards
The result was considered a defeat to Conservative Party and British Prime Minister David Cameron. Prominent members of the Labour Party used the result to attack Cameron.
Zahradil became the first Czech to be a president of a group in European parliament. The Civic Democratic Party considered the result a huge success. Zahradil's term was only contemporary as it would end in December 2011. Zahradil decided to not seek reelection. Zahradil instead ran for leadership of Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists.
References
- Day, Matthew (9 March 2011). "Czech MEP elected leader of Tories in European Parliament". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- "Czech beats British Conservative to lead EP group". POLITICO. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "Czech Mate for the ECR Group". New Europe. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- Syal, Rajeev (27 January 2011). "Turmoil for Tories in Europe as alliance leader 'hounded out'". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- Waterfield, Bruno (2011). "Tories in turmoil over EU far-Right launch". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- "MEP Zahradil to run for chairman of ECR". Radio.cz. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "Zahradil povede konzervativce v Evropském parlamentu". Tiscali.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- Syal, Rajeev (28 January 2011). "Michal Kaminski blames Polish pressure after quitting Tory group". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- Syal, Rajeev (17 February 2011). "Gay rights critic fights to lead David Cameron's allies in Europe". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "The homophobe, the climate denier or the moderate – what next for the ECR?". leftfootforward.org. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- Mulholland, Hélène (9 March 2011). "Tory MEP loses bid for leadership of David Cameron's eurosceptic group". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- "Zahradil povede "euroskeptiky" v Evropském parlamentu". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). 8 March 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- "Conservatives seek control". POLITICO. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- "Šéfem celosvětové konzervativní aliance ACRE opět zvolen Jan Zahradil z ODS". JV Press (in Czech). 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.