STRASBOURG, France, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Jose Manuel Barroso made a last pitch Tuesday to the European Parliament for another term as president of the European Commission.
Three parties endorsed Barroso immediately after his speech, the EUobserver reported. That seemed likely to give him the support he needs when the parliament votes Wednesday around noon.
Barroso failed to win over left-wing members of parliament. The Euro-skeptics also withheld support because of his backing of the Lisbon Treaty.
"Apparently everything is changing and Barroso is the guarantor of stability," Green Party leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit said.
Barroso, a former radical leftist, had turned right of center before he became prime minister of Portugal and the EC president.
He gave a long speech to the parliament, moving from French to English and from an overview of the European and global situation to specific plans. Those include a commissioner for migration and, in an effort to woo the Socialists, a law governing working conditions for people moving between member states of the European Union.
