Conservative party doesn’t want veteran MEP to return to Brussels.
Though a final decision won’t come until state delegates vote on the list on January 26, party insiders say it could prove difficult for Brok to rally enough delegates to his cause. He said Tuesday that he has yet to decide whether to mount a challenge.
Either way, Monday’s vote by the party executive counts as nothing less than a slap in the face for Parliament’s longest-serving member, a man who has become the face of the EU for many Germans. Brok’s shaggy blonde hair, walrus mustache and silk pocket squares are fixtures on German public television discussions about Europe. He’s also been a lively participant on Europe’s conference circuit, explaining the positions of the Continent’s hegemon to the rest of the EU.
Brok and other MEPs at a radio studio in Strasbourg in September 1990 | European Parliament
That Brok’s enemies should come from his own house has as much to do with the changing dynamics in the CDU as with the man himself. A longtime ally of Angela Merkel, Brok owes much of his influence to his close association with the chancellor and a widely held perception outside Germany — true or not — that he has her ear.
Brok’s defeat Monday night appears driven in part by score-settling within the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s richest and most populous region. State premier Armin Laschet pushed hard, some say too hard, for Brok, a strategy that ultimately backfired.
Even so, the fact that challenging Brok was even an option suggests that with the Merkel era slowly drawing to a close, many in the party want to start cleaning house to make room for a new generation. Stefan Berger, the party’s choice for the spot that Brok coveted, is 49. Brok is 72 and will be nearly 80 by the end of Parliament’s next term.
A contemporary of Wolfgang Schäuble and Helmut Kohl, Brok cut his teeth in the old West German CDU. Unlike most of his colleagues, however, Europe wasn’t a stepping stone to higher office back home, but an end unto itself.
A 1995 debate on the TV set of the Parliament in Strasbourg | European Parliament
And a lucrative one at that. In addition to his duties as an MEP, Brok worked for years as a lobbyist and adviser to Bertelsmann, the media giant behind RTL and Random House. Though Brok’s association with Bertelsmann, which is based in his home constituency of Gütersloh, raised plenty of eyebrows, he maintained his dual roles until he reached retirement age.
Legend has it that Kohl dissuaded Brok from relinquishing his MEP position in exchange for a career at Bertelsmann. Whatever the case, neither Kohl nor Merkel took issue with his dual roles.
Despite being referred to as “Mr. Bertelsmann” by fellow MEPs behind his back, Brok’s stature only grew over the years. He served as chairman of Parliament’s foreign affairs committee for 13 years in total and also played an influential role on the committee for constitutional affairs, a central forum for the debate on Europe’s future.
As Parliament gradually evolved from a political backwater into a more formidable force, Brok became the most important German in Brussels. He used that influence both to help friends, most notably his Bertelsmann protégé Martin Selmayr, now the Commission’s top civil servant, and to do Merkel’s bidding in the EU.
That loyalty paid off. In 2004, Merkel elevated him to the CDU’s executive committee, giving him a voice on all key party decisions.
Brok, next to the Dalai Lama in 2016 | European Parliament
In recent years, Brok has drawn attention for his outspoken position on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. He has been one of the strongest and most consistent advocates for maintaining sanctions against Moscow.
As with his old friend Jean-Claude Juncker, Brok’s long-standing commitment to Europe evokes admiration across the political spectrum, despite lingering questions about his ethics. In the wake of Monday’s vote, even his political opponents are having difficulty imagining Parliament without him.
“Don’t write Brok off!” Green MEP Reinhard Bütikofer wrote on Twitter. “Someone who understands the U.S. and especially Washington as well as he does is especially valuable to the EU at the moment.”
Brok jokes with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker | European Parliament
Brok’s party allies, meanwhile, appear ready to continue the fight.
“Elmar Brok is one of the most distinguished German politicians in Europe,” Laschet said on Tuesday. “We’re going to need minds like his in the difficult times that lie ahead to deal with issues like Brexit and the formation of a new EU Commission.”
