European Parliament Heading for Left-Right Showdown as Schulz Mulls Another Term

Schulz, the former leader of the alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, has been the EP president for five years, and has been praised for raising the parliament's profile for his strong views on many key topics such as the Greek debt crisis and Brexit.

With his current term set to expire in January 2017, there is speculation the 60-year-old German may be gathering support behind the scenes to try and secure another two-and-a-half-years in the EP.

​Schulz's push for another term has already gained the support of the leader of the European Parliament's Socialist group, Gianni Pittella, and Germany's vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, who belongs to the same domestic Social Democrat party (SPD) as Schulz.

Interestingly, Schulz also seems to have the support of European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker, who comes from Europe's rival conservative bloc, with Juncker backing the German to remain in his post.

​"I am in favor of the European institutions being led for the next two-and-a-half years as they have been thus far. We need stability," Juncker told German newspaper der Spiegel in July.

'He Would be Declaring War'

However any attempt to extend Schulz's presidency into a third term would be in breach of a deal — signed by Schulz himself — between Europe's right-wing and left-wing parties, that stipulates the parliament presidency should rotate between the two camps every 30 months.

"We have an agreement with the Socialists — Martin Schulz signed it himself," an unnamed MEP from the conservative EPP group told AFP.

​"If he puts himself forward again, he would be declaring war."

Critics have called for Schulz to honor his commitment and not run for the parliament's presidency in January, noting that he had not yet ruled out or declared whether he will run again.

​While supporters have praised Schulz for his role in raising the profile of the European Parliament, others have criticized his outspoken nature on certain issues and have taken aim at his perceived "autocratic style."

The Future for Schulz

While speculation is rife over Schulz's future with the European Parliament, there have also been reports that the former bookshop owner may be considering a bid to return to German domestic politics and take on Chancellor Angela Merkel in next year's federal election.

Schulz's SPD party are currently the junior coalition partners in Merkel's government, however there are fears the party may lose votes due to its support for Berlin's "open-door" refugee policy, which resulted in more than one million refugees from the Middle East arriving in Germany last year.

​While Schulz has said that vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel is the "legitimate candidate" of the Social Democrats, he has not ruled running for the party's leadership himself, sparking speculation over his next move.