Jean-Claude Juncker’s bid to become president of the European Commission is running into stiff resistance from some national leaders, although it has won the backing of the Parliament’s main political groups.

The leaders of the political groups from the current European Parliament met yesterday morning (27 May) and issued a statement confirming that Juncker, as the candidate of the largest group in the next Parliament “will be the first to attempt to form the required majority”.

But two centre-right national leaders – the UK’s David Cameron and Viktor Orbán of Hungary – have come out against Juncker and are now seeking to put together a blocking minority of member states to prevent his nomination. (The nomination requires a weighted majority of member states.)

Even Angela Merkel of Germany – the most powerful figure in the centre-right European People’s Party whose candidate Juncker is – offered only lukewarm support, not ruling out that Juncker might become a casualty of the political consultations that are now getting underway.

“We obviously go into the debate with Jean-Claude Juncker as our candidate,” Merkel said. “And it’s been said time and again that the key point is which of the two party groups is stronger. But on the other hand we also know that neither of the two party groups can decide on a new Commission president on its own.”

Merkel had stressed at the December European Council that there was “no automaticity” between the election result and the appointment of a Commission president, a feeling that appears to be widely shared among the Union’s national leaders.

Merkel spoke on Monday (26 May), one day after elections to the Parliament confirmed the EPP as the largest group with around 213 seats. The EPP’s losses have narrowed its lead over the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D), which is expected to have around 191 MEPs in the next Parliament. Even a grand coalition of EPP and S&D in the Parliament would have a margin of fewer than 30 seats above the 376-seat simple majority, making it vulnerable to defections.

Fredrik Reinfeldt, Sweden’s centre-right prime minister, said yesterday that he had not supported the idea of the political groups putting up lead candidates for the Commission presidency and that the process of appointing a Commission president was just starting. “I am not ready to name any people tonight,” he said on entering a meeting of national leaders from the European Union’s 28 member states, which was still in progress as European Voice went to press.

Diplomats involved in the preparations for yesterday’s informal European Council suggested that the leaders would issue a statement giving a mandate to Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, to start political consultations on the appointment.

The European Council was also scheduled to discuss the political priorities for the Union for the next five years, an exercise that could yet give the national leaders a way out of their dilemma: they have backed a procedure, of campaigning with lead candidates, whose outcome – Juncker – they do not like.

Several sources said that opposition to Juncker was not limited to Cameron and Orbán.

Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, yesterday told the Dutch parliament that there is “no automaticity” between the candidates and the nomination. He said that the national leaders should first discuss the Union’s policy priorities and then decide later who would be the most suitable Commission president in light of these priorities. This would allow the European Council to nominate someone other than Juncker, perhaps offering Juncker the presidency of the European Council instead.

“As Council president, Juncker would bring much more value to the table than as president of the Commission,” a diplomat said.

The Parliament had offered its backing to Juncker’s attempt at coalition-building after initial hesitation from the centre-left. Sergey Stanishev, the president of the Party of European Socialists, said on Monday that there should be “parallel processes” for Juncker and Martin Schulz, the centre-left’s candidate, to forge a majority. But on Tuesday, Schulz conceded that Juncker should get the first chance to form an opportunity.

“According to the rules, it’s the strongest [political group] that starts,” Schulz said yesterday. But he added: “One thing is clear for Jean-Claude Juncker – without the Socialist group there will be no majority in the European Parliament.”