The European Left on Saturday elected Austrian Walter Baier as their spitzenkandidat or pick to lead the European Commission following the elections in June. Baier, 70, who hails from the Austrian communist party, has been the group’s president since December 2022 but had, until then, little experience in European politics. He defended his lack of European credentials at the group’s meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on Saturday, telling reporters that “frankly speaking, Europe is not just Brussels.” “Europe is 27 nations and hundreds of cities and millions of citizens. The European Left wants to…