Martin Schulz’s announcement that he is leaving the European Parliament to seek a seat in the Bundestag caught everyone by surprise — especially his own Socialists and Democrats group.

So sure was the S&D that Schulz was staying as Parliament president — and that he wanted to remain in the role — that the group had no Plan B, and is now scrambling to find a presidential candidate at short notice. Worse, the group’s main rival — the center-right European People’s Party — has a number of presidential candidates, both declared and rumored.

“The group has never prepared any alternative to Schulz,” said an official from the S&D. “Our group would always obey him.”

Schulz confirmed to POLITICO in the early hours of last Thursday that he will seek a seat in the German parliament next year. Given that he’s set to head the list for the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, he is virtually guaranteed a seat in the federal parliament, fueling speculation that he is also eyeing a run for chancellor.

“Though nobody said it out loud, many of us took for granted that Schulz would remain,” said Sergio Cofferati, an Italian MEP. “We need to rebuild the political balance we had so far.”

Schulz held office under a power-sharing deal struck between the S&D and the EPP, with the presidency to pass between them. That arrangement already looked shaky as Schulz had indicated he wanted to stay on. Now that he’s Berlin-bound, the deal appears to be in tatters.

Time is running out as the S&D is scheduled to pick a presidential candidate on December 7. An S&D source said Gianni Pittella, the leader of the S&D MEPs, has raised concerns with several Socialist leaders.

“You can be sure that we will not accept a right-wing monopoly over [the] European Union,” Pittella told POLITICO by text message on Friday. In a statement, he added: “The balance of the institutions should not be seen as a matter concerning only the EU Parliament but also the other institutions.”

Pittella’s statement was echoed by many other S&D MEPs, who said they would oppose a conservative taking over as Parliament president. The European Commission’s Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council’s Donald Tusk are both members of the EPP, which has led to calls for one of them to resign.

Of the two, Tusk appears more vulnerable, as his current two-and-a-half year term expires mid-way through next year. Juncker is the only one of the three presidents with a five-year term, and is barely half-way through it.

“None of us was prepared for this,” said Cofferati. “But if the Parliament elects a president from the EPP, it will strip the Socialists away from any significant responsibility, it would be unacceptable and unfair.”

Cofferati addd that the group is the “second biggest family in the EU” and “our role can’t be marginalized.”

Sources say Pittella could run himself, but it’s unclear if he would have enough support to get the job. “Some members of the S&D say [Guy] Verhofstadt and [Mairead] McGuinness are credible candidates,” a Parliament official said. “But honestly, the scenario is very fuzzy now.”

Verhofstadt, the leader of the liberal ALDE group, is expected to announce his candidacy on Tuesday while McGuinness of the EPP has already thrown her hat into the ring.

There are also fears that Schulz’s departure will damage the relationship between S&D and EPP, a tie-up helped in no small measure by the friendship between Juncker and Schulz. The two men worked together on initiatives such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments — also known as the Juncker Plan.

“Now that [Schulz] is leaving, compromises will be more difficult than before,” said Paul Tang, a Dutch member of the S&D. “Schulz was very dominant. If Juncker wants a relationship with the Parliament [in the future], he’ll have to work for it.”

The Parliament will hold a secret ballot to elect its next president on January 17.

Bjarke Smith-Meyer contributed to this article.

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