| Dear reader, Lack of enthusiasm among national members of the European Left is driving the party to pick a widely unknown politician for its lead candidate in EU elections, echoing a general lack of appetite for the contested Spitzenkandidaten system. Walter Baier, Austrian communist and president of the European Left Party, is the top contender to be the party’s lead candidate, or Spitzenkandidat, three sources close to the matter told Euractiv. The European Left follows the EU socialists’ announcement last week that Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, also a lightweight profile, would become the party’s lead candidate as he was the only nominee – confirming once again the generalised lack of enthusiasm for the lead candidate system. | 