EP Socialists Elect Martin Schulz As Group Leader

European Parliament President Martin Schulz has been elected the leader of the body’s Social Democrat bloc, reports Deutsche Welle. 

With 191 seats, the group is the European Parliament’s second-largest faction.

On Wednesday, the Social Democrats elected Schulz, a book vendor from Aachen who began his political career with Germany's SPD, as their leader, a position he held from 2004 to 2012 before quitting to head the legislative body.

Schulz is also the socialist candidate for the position European Commission president. He would face former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, the candidate put forward by the parliament's right-wing European People's Party.