There is no way that this Govt will allow a repeat of the embarrassing 35% for the EP or the post going to someone they are not comfortable with. This despite removing much of the powers originally given to th EP.
They could have addressed this very simply by reverting to the previous model of appointing a Head of State. Nobody would have batted an eye. After all it is mainly ceremonial with some residual powers. And it worked well with races rotated and served a useful purpose of symbolic inclusion.
Even then with the lastest revision, if the President does not consent, the new mechanism has been introduced that he does.
The only reason that they did this was protect the legacy of the old who conceived the whole notion of an EP. Nobody wants to say he screwed royally. The notion that he created the EP to move into the role has never ever gone away.