Brussels - The European People's Party, the centre-right group which swept to power in last month's elections to the European Parliament, elected a German, Mr Hans-Gert Poettering, as its leader yesterday.
Mr Poettering, who will replace the Belgian Mr Wil fried Martens at the head of the mainly Christian Democrat EPP, was elected unopposed by 94 per cent of the group's members. The EPP took 232 of the 626 seats in the European Parliament in the elections, well ahead of the Socialists.