The Fine Gael leader John Bruton is off to Malaga next week for a meeting of the European People's Party or Christian Democrats, of which FG and particularly its leader are enthusiastic members. With some 232 members and still growing, the EPP is now the largest in the new parliament, a position previously held by the Socialists, so it will have the pick of the jobs. France's Nicole Fontaine is its candidate for president of parliament and Mary Banotti will be seeking a vice-presidential post - but then so is everyone else, both inside and outside the EPP. The Hibernophile, German MEP Hans Goert Pottering, is likely to be president of the parliamentary group while the former Belgian PM, Wilfried Martens, will remain as president of the party, a position vice-president Bruton is said to aspire to.
One of the decisions the EPP will have to take in Malaga is whether or not to admit Dana to its ranks. Any member outside a group has little power and influence in Europe and is marginalised. Dana has written seeking admission and the EPP is likely to take her. She will then be an allied member rather than an Independent. Maybe she thinks the EPP is more Christian than it is. FG is easily the EPP's most conservative party - which in Dana's terms is hardly saying much. Fianna Fail which some would see as her natural home - is a member of the Union for Europe, and that group went into the Euro elections with 36 members and will be lucky to emerge with 30 after next weeks crucial meeting in Brussels. The group is scrambling for members because numbers mean clout, and while some French Gaullists are leaving to join the EPP, those who remain will be vital in a party which also includes Italy's Allianza Nationale, the heirs of Mussolini.
The Socialists, which at 178 suffered heavy losses across Europe, was licking its wounds in Brussels this week and deciding what jobs it will go for when the new parliament meets in Strasbourg on July 19th. The position of group leader, however, is still clarified between Britain's Pauline Green and Spain's Enrico Baron Crispo.
Meanwhile, Pat Cox is almost certain to retain the leadership when the Liberals meet in Brussels on Wednesday, despite being a solitary member in a group that went up by eight seats to 50 last month. He is the first Irish member to reach such heights, which not only confer great status but also considerable power.