The Veteran Insider -- Jean-Claude Juncker
Europe's longest-serving leader as Luxembourg prime minister for 19 years, Jean-Claude Juncker carries the banner for the centre-right European People's Party. Juncker can claim to have helped the modern European Union take shape, with greater powers won by Brussels to marshal member states in the cause of a united Europe. For some that is an advantage, but in the current more eurosceptic climate, many want less Europe and Juncker suffers accordingly. Juncker, widely known for his deadpan humour, is a convinced pro-European and helped steer the eurozone through a nearly-terminal debt crisis. On the campaign trail, he talks plainly of the need for continued austerity and economic reform but also recognises the huge social cost involved. At 59, he is aiming for his last big public position, having previously lost out on heading the European Council which groups the EU's 28 political leaders.
The Challenger - Martin Schulz
German Social Democrat Martin Schulz, 58, current head of the European Parliament, got that post on the back of an EPP deal with is Socialist party. A former bookseller from Aachen in Germany who once dreamt of being a footballer, he is best known for facing down a Nazi jibe from former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Schulz believes Europe can and should deliver peace and prosperity for all, promising that as head of the Commission he would focus on creating jobs to combat EU unemployment at near record levels.
The Dark Horse - Guy Verhofstadt
A former Belgium premier, the Liberal Guy Verhofstadt says he is the best compromise between front-runners Juncker and Schulz who he charges will only deliver more-of-the-same failed policies. Born in 1953, Verhofstadt came of political age in the 1980s when Magaret Thatcher re-wrote the political handbook and made free markets respectable again. Liberal to a fault, he was tagged by some as 'Baby Thatcher' but showed he was an effective politician too, emerging as Belgian prime minister in 1999 at the head of a broad coalition government. In 2004, Britain black-balled a first bid for the European Commission. Well known as a passionate speaker in debate, Verhofstadt defends his European vision against all comers.
The Radical Contrarian - Alexis Tsipras
Starting out as a Young Communist, Alexis Tsipras at 39 carries the hopes of the radical left. Tsipras is a powerful figure in Greek politics for his uncompromising rejection of the stinging austerity policies imposed by the country's international creditors in return for two massive debt rescues. His attacks on German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the wicked champion of austerity go down particularly well at home and find an echo abroad too. Head of the Syriza party in Greece since 2008, Tsipras lacks EU experience and is not well known internationally.
The Novice - Ska Keller
German Ska Keller, the only woman in the race, is an articulate and passionate voice for the Green cause. The Greens are under pressure, with their voter base eroding as the economic slump puts a premium on economic growth and jobs. Skeller, 32, has brought a breath of fresh air to a lacklustre election, notably putting Juncker on the spot when she challenged him and the EPP over what she said was their unhealthy tolerance of the eurosceptic far-right. In parliament since 2009, Skeller argues she is more in touch with the day-to-day realities of Europe's 500 million citizens than her more experienced but elite opponents.
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