France pushing for Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as commission head

Bloomberg

President Emmanuel Macron will push chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as his choice to lead the European Commission, a senior French official said, as European leaders meet in Brussels to begin the jostling to fill the bloc’s leadership spots.
The official said on condition of anonymity that the French leader first wants to agree on the commission president before beginning to haggle over positions such as head of the European Central Bank, the other prized post and one that might go to a candidate from Germany, which has never held that office.
The horsetrading for the top EU jobs begins at a summit in Brussels with the European Parliament elections over. France and Germany, Europe’s two biggest economies, have traditionally had substantial leverage over the EU jobs and Macron’s opening gambit would enhance Germany’s claim to the ECB post.
But the challenge is that Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann is a non-starter for southern leaders for his long-held hawkish views, opposition to many of Mario Draghi’s unconventional measures and repeatedly calling for the start of a cycle of higher interest rates.
French officials have rejected the so-called “Spitzenkanditat” system whereby the biggest party in the European Parliament selects the head of the commission. Movements making up the center-right European People’s Party group in the EU parliament won the most seats in the elections, but lost ground compared with the previous vote.
Barnier has led the EU’s negotiations with Britain over Brexit since 2016. He’s also been the EU Commissioner for the internal market, as well as holding several cabinet positions in France. He officially belongs to the EPP group, though he has close ties to Macron who is trying to set up a new centrist group in the EU parliament.