Olivier Matthys/EPA
António Costa at his last European Council
Classified as a “skilled negotiator” by Politico, his “propensity for building bridges” earned him eighth place in the newspaper’s “Class of 2025.”
The newspaper Político created a “Class of 2025”, with the best politicians who promise to lead the way next year. In “Class“, , there are 3 types of politicians: the “doers”, the disruptors and the dreamers that will shape European politics and policies in the coming year.
António Costa occupies 8th place in the “doers” sectionthat is, “doers”, “realizers”, “executors”, or “most active”. The newspaper classifies these politicians as “those most capable of imposing their will“.
The “most influential policy of the year”, according to the American newspaper, is Giorgia Meloni, Italian Prime Minister of the far-right Brothers of Italy party.
Then begins the list of “doers”, headed by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Next up is Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Antonio Costa between French Stephanie RisoDirector General of the Budget Department of the European Commission, and Sabine WeyandDirector General for EU Trade.
The former Portuguese prime minister, who last week took office as president of the European Council, occupies 8th place on the list, as the newspaper considers that “is a skilled negotiatorwith one of complex agreements”.
“Your propensity to build bridges — including with the growing number of far-right figures on the Council — is an asset in trying to reach agreements on controversial issues, including European defense, the bloc’s approach to migration and its attempts to balance international trade with the strengthening of national industries”, writes the newspaper.
The newspaper also mentions its ability to negotiate with the extreme righthighlighting its good relations with the Hungarian nationalist Viktor Orbán. The “unlikely governmental alliances” made in the Portuguese Parliament are also mentioned.
“Coast will also be the first leader of an ethnic minority to occupy a top position in the highest EU institutions. Of Goan and Mozambican descent, the former Portuguese leader is a physical representation of Europe’s increasingly multicultural heritage. His team believes this will be useful for him abroad”, writes the Politico editorial team.
The newspaper places its trust in Costa: “In his role as newly installed president of the European Council, Portuguese António Costa has a great task ahead of him: clear the tracks of his predecessor Charles Michel“, which the newspaper classifies as “prone to gaffes” and known for “failing to do the essential part of his job”.
Your “warm working relationship with von der Leyen” is also highlighted as an important factor, another that contributed to its subtitle in the classification: “the art of business“.
In the list of “disruptive”, it leads Friedrich Merzcurrent main figure of the German CDU. In “dreamers”, number 1 is Mark Ruttethe secretary general of NATO.
“The dispersion of power in unusual places made compiling this list a unusually lively subjectwith a very controversial debate”, write the editors.
Depending on one’s political orientation, the figures on the list may be admirable, respectable or even despicable. But there is one thing they all have in common: a Huge potential to shape Europe’s destiny over the next year“, they conclude.
