Cyprus' Lady MEP leads Eminent Lithuanian MEP in Surprize Vote for New CoE Assembly President

*Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- Just after the "Bumpy" Controversy which pushed at the Out-going CoE Parliamentary Assembly's (PACE) President, Pedro Agramunt's last-minute, Unprecedented Resignation, back on Friday, (See, among others, also, f.ex:...), another UnExpected development was the emergence of not 1, but 2 Candidates for his Immediate Succession, Both being well-known Mainstream ChristianDemocrat/EPP Group's important Members, (See Infra).

The Winner is due to Chair this Week's PACE's Autumn 2017 Plenary Sesion, (10-13/2017), a subsequent Standing Committee meeting in Denmark, (Incoming, New CoE's Chair from the 15th of November 2017 up to May 2018), as well as Many other Simple Committees Meetings, f.ex. in Paris, and elsewhere in Europe, until and including the Beginning of an Important January 2018 Next Plenary Session in Strasbourg, at the End of that Month, (where, among others, Russian MEPs might, eventually, negotiate their Return, after almost 4 Years of Exceptional Absence. (Comp.:...). Meanwhile, some Reports and Votes on Key Issues are scheduled, starting immediately, right from this week, (See Infra).

Afterwards, if things go as initially scheduled, then, according to a Traditional Agreement between the various Political Groups, it's a Socialist MEP, (the current Head of the Group, Italian MEP Nicoletti), who is due to take over. But, after what happened recently, (Comp. Supra +See Infra), certain sources warned that, in fact, it's no more sure at all that everything will run so smoothly then. So, this might Not be the End of Surprizes...

Indeed, the Battle for the Prestigious and Influential Top Job of CoE's PanEuropean Parliamentary Assembly's Presidency seems to really go on in Strasbourg, to the point that it even Inspired ...the Strategic "Café" Facing the Hemicycle, where a bunch of Good Wine Bottles were Today exhibited with, at their Center, a Symbolic ..."Chateau la Bataille" ("Castle of the Battles" ! ), which attracted immediately the Attention, (See Photo)...

Experienced, mainstream MEP Emanuelis Zingeris, from Lithuania, an eminent PACE Member as early as, already since the 1990ies, Repporteur on several "Hot" Issues, (Comp., f.ex. statements to "Eurofora", among others, also, at: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/coeonbrusselsattacksandghettos.html), seems to have got the main Endorsment of the Biggest Political Group, that of "ChristianDemocrats"/EPP, including of his President, German MEP of the Governing CDU Party of Chancellor Angie Merkel, Axel Fischer. He is also supported by some "Liberal" MEPs.

But Cyprus' most Popular MP in the latest Elections of 2016, Stella Kyriakides, (See, f.ex., among others, also relevant "Eurofora"s NewsReport at: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/cypruselectionboostsconservativesnewpartiesandcitizens.html ), President of CoE Assembly's Committee on Social, Health and Sustainable Development (comp. f.ex.: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/conseildeleuropeetmariageshomosexuels.html ) also ChristianDemocrat/EPP MEP since 2012, (after a Previous, Long Experience as CoE's Officer on the PanEuropean Social Charter, and former EU Expert), extended the Endorsment of several Important EPP's MEPs, (f.ex. Ria Oomen-Ruijten, former EU Parliament's Rapporteur, and Pieter Omtzigt : both from the Netherlands, Dora Bakoyannis, former Foreign Minister and f. President of PACE's Political affairs Committee, from Greece, etc.), also to 2 Leaders of Other Political Groups, (Anne Brasseur, former PACE President  - Comp. Statements to "Eurofora", f.ex., at: ..., etc- and f. Chairwoman of the "Liberals", as well as Tiny Cox, President of the "Left", a Dutch Senator - ibid : ..., etc), 7 "Socialist" MEPs, 4 "Conservatives" MEPs, etc.

=> Thus, right from the 1st Round of Votes, Earlier Today, she led with 126 Votes, against 84 for Zingeris, i.e., a Clear (even if No Absolute) Majority.

+ And this was Confirmed, even Further Augmenting her Advance, at the 2nd Round, with 121 Votes, against 69.

However, since for an Absolute Majority were Needed 152 Votes, at the 1st Round, and something almost similar at the 2nd, the Final Outcome was Postponed for Tomorrow Morning, Tuesday, October 10, (according to what had been, in fact, Expected from the Start, as well informed Sources had Warned "Eurofora" earlier).

But, a simple, Relative Majority being Sufficient on Tmorrow's 3rd Round, Unless a Surprize might occur, Stella Kyriakides' crystal-clear Advance in Votes Appears to rather guarantee a safe Final Win.

At First Sight, it looks quite Diffiicult to find, with certainty, which were the Real Causes of the above-mentioned (still partial, but rather conclusive) results.

Some MEPs claimed that it might have, perhaps, something to do with the respective positions of the Candidates vis a vis the recent, UnPrecedented Controversy on the Out-going PACE President Pedro Agramunt from Spain, which had been just pushed to Resign, (Comp., f.ex. : ...), But it's Not so sure, since Both Zingeris and Kyriakides have been Endorsed by various MEPs also Critical versus Agramunt, (f.ex. several Pro-Kiev Ukranians, on Both Sides, particularly with Zingeris, but also Armenian MEPs and Omtzigt, also Critical vis a vis Agramunt, supporting Kyriakides, etc).

Russia being, notoriously, a main pretext for the harsh Criticism that Agramunt had suddenly faced, (Comp.: ...), one might, naturally, search there, at least a part of Most MEPs' Motivation. Some's inaccurate rumours that Zingeris might be too "Soft" vis a vis Moscow, look obviously MisInformed, since he's usually quite Critical, currently Drafts a Report on Nemtsov's killing, and is endorsed by many pro-Kiev Ukranians, Georgians, Polish, Lithuanians, etc. Kyriakides too, (perhaps at a slightly lesser degree), is endorsed also by Various usual Critics of Russia, including, f.ex. pro-Kiev Ukranians, Georgians, Brittish, Anne Brasseur, Liliane Maury Pasquier and/or Petra de Sutter, etc. But also by some more open to Russia's arguments, such as Tiny Cox, etc. However, that does Not seem enough to mark a big Difference there, (considering also the Fact that Most MEPs' preferences still remain Unknown, given the Secret character of these Votes)...

Could, then, it be, simply because a PACE's Majority might, eventually, wish to have Now a Woman as New President ? It's  Fact that, in general, Most Past CoE Women Leaders were quite Succesfull : F.ex., inter alia, "Eurora"'s co-Founder Started Press Work with former COE's Secretary General, Professor Catherine Lalumière, from France, whith whom we still kept until recently a very Good and pôsitive relation, from times to times ; and went on to Develop Excellent relations also with German former PACE President Hellen Fischer. But, in Addition to the 2 Biggest EU Countries, its' also Anne Brasseur, a Long-Time MEP and recently PACE's President, with whom we Worked Well and correctly, (Comp., f.ex., among others, also : ..., etc), who comes from Nearby Luxembourg, located at EU's Core, but as "Small" in Population as almost Cyprus' strategic Island, located among 3 Continents and Facing Suez Channel, etc. And it's rue that, Stella Kyriakides, Played a bit that kind of Musical Note, this Afternoon, when she Animated (as PACE Health Committee's Chair) a Side-Event at CoE Palace's ForeCourt with a "Pink-Lighting" of its Building, for an Awareness-Raising brief meeting on the Fight against Breast Cancer, where Calls for "Solidarity" and/or to "Save" or "Change the Life" of many Women, Otherwise threatened to fall Victims to a quite avoidable and/or treatable hasard.

However, even if it might be a  Sympathetic point, this is, obviously, unable to seriously explain what happened...

Could, then, it be (at least Also), simply Because of Cyprus ?

Various MEPs might, indeed, have Found there a Symbolic Way to Tell Turkey that it wasN't Right to provoke a Breakdown of the UN-Sponsored Talks for a ¨Peaceful ReUnification of the Island, recently, at nearby Switzerland, mainly by Ankara's Insistence to Keep its illegal Invasion/Occupation Military Troops even After the Entry into force of an eventual Agreement, Neither to push a kind of Permanent Claim for Unilateral Military Invasion of the Island also in the Future, (See, f.ex.: ...).

While such Considerations might, perhaps, have played a role, at least for some MEPs' choice, nevertheless, ...it's simply Too Good to be True !

So, a "Mystery" still remains, as far as that - still Evolving - Vote is concerned, (Comp. Supra)...

After having arrived at this point,  one is, a priori, Surprized to find the UneExpected Fact that, among those MEPs who had Endorsed Kyriakides from the outset, was also the Rapporteur on one among the Most Controversial BioEthical Issues nowadays : that of Genetic Manipulations on Human Beings :

Indeed, such a Report, is Scheduled for Debate and Vote on Tursday Afternoon, 12 October 2017, and drafted by Petra De Sutter, from Belgium :  A "Socialist" who has, Already, notoriously provoked a lot of Fuss and made Upset Many among Various BioEthical NGOs, Natural Family, Natural Births' and Human Rights Defenders, in such "Hot" Areas, as, f.ex., "Gender" Issues, Same Sex Marriage, Children submitted to the Power of Homosexuals under Pretext of so-called "Adoption", etc. And, at least the EPP, would be Now in the process of preparing "a Series of Amendments", as its BioEthical issues' Representative, MEP Giletschi from Moldova, and Head of a Worldwide Baptism movement, told "Eurofora".

As for the Hypothesis, for some to have provoked, recentlty, an UnPrecedented Row about the Out-Going PACE President, Agramunt's visit to meet Suria's President Assad, together with several Other PACE's Top MEPs, through the intermediation of Russia, but withOut asking previously, for an Authorisation from the Assembly, until they pushed him to Resign, also in order to, perhaps, Destabilize the the ChristianDemocrat/EPP Group, Divide and Weaken it, so that it couldn't really oppose anymore, with efficient means, such Controversial Moves on "Hot" BioEthical Issues for All Humankind, (Comp., f.ex., at : .....), it doesn't seem to be excluded a priori...

So, at any case, considering also the Famous moto about "Cesar's Wife", who should Not Only Be, even Look like a Honest Lady, Observers will certainly Watch Carefully, in case that Stella Kyriakides really succeeds to be Elected as New President of CoE's Assembly, Tomorrow Morning (Comp. Supra), how her Presidency would Deal, in Real Practice, with all those Critical Amendments to that Report on one of the "Hottest" BioEthical Issues of Nowadays, (which had also Rocked even the USA, between former US Presidents' GWBush and Barack Obama's eras, as well as other Countries accross the World), until the current Draft might be adequately Rectified.

(../..)

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