Šoltes, who voted for the Greens' Ulrike Lunacek, told the STA that the party wanted to offer "a real choice" to the MEPs with its candidate.

"The president of the European Parliament...should be elected by MEPs in a transparent way. The parliament should not have been simply presented with an already made choice by the governments of the EU," Šoltes's party said.

MEP Tanja Fajon (S&D/SD) meanwhile expressed content that "a colleague and a friend will be the face of the European Parliament for another two and a half years". "His commitment to European values - solidarity, welfare, a fair society and fight against tax fraud - is what Europeans need now more than ever," she told the STA.

The five Slovenian MEPs in the EPP also backed Schulz as part of an agreement between the two biggest European political groupings that Jean-Claude Juncker (EPP) will lead the European Commission and Schulz the parliament.

"I voted for the new-old president, because that was the deal," MEP Lojze Peterle (EPP/NSi) said, adding that a coalition between the EPP and the S&D was necessary.

MEP Franc Bogovič (EPP/SLS) similarly noted that "in the European political arena compromises need to be made as well", while MEP Milan Zver (EPP/SDS) said that "in politics, deals between those who think differently are necessary".

"In politics, as in life, one needs to be adaptable," MEP Patricija Šulin (EPP/SDS) added, while MEP Romana Tomc (EPP/SDS) expressed a wish that similar agreements could also be struck more often in Slovenia.

MEP Ivo Vajgl (Alde/DeSUS), who praised the choice of other three candidates, besides Lunacek they were ECR's Sajjad Karim, and GUE-NGL's Pablo Iglesias, as "serious and well founded", believes that "the experienced Schulz" will be better at promoting the role of the parliament.