2023-09-04 06:04:04
Who is Ursula von der Leyen? The German politician, Minister of Defense with Angela Merkel, was almost a complete stranger among community journalists when her name began to sound to replace Jean Claude Juncker at the head of the European Commission. Von der Leyen went on to join the very long list of the so-called “covered”, those candidates who are imposed at the last moment as discarded and whose greatest virtue lies in not arousing great opposition, although not excessive fervor either.
Von der Leyen ended up being chosen at the summit held in Brussels on July 2, 2019 after the EU heads of state and government rejected the candidacies of Manfred Weber, of the European People’s Party, and that of Frans Timmermans, of the socialists. The two had participated in the process called spitzenkandidant, head of the list in German, by which the candidates of the political forces who stand for the elections to the European Parliament as head of the list can become presidents of the European Commission and not be some complete strangers to the voters.
But the heads of State and Government of the Twenty-seven gave a palace coup, so usual in the community capital, and opted for Von der Leyen. As the end of his term approaches, German politics paradoxically seems to still want to be the perfect cover. Although it is assumed that he wants to run for a second term, he has not announced it yet. This secrecy has also given rise to speculation about her future in another position, such as Jens Stoltenberg’s successor in the NATO secretary general when the Norwegian politician leaves office in October 2024, unless there is another renewal. of his mandate. Von der Leyen’s name sounded in the corridors of the military organization before NATO opted to extend Stoltenberg for another year, although allied sources point out that his candidacy was never as advanced as that of Ben Wallace, the recently resigned British Defense Minister.
While Von der Leyen seems to be defoliating the daisy, for months there have been numerous rumors about the support he has if he wants to remain at the helm of the European Commission. Despite belonging to the European People’s Party, it is known that the German chancellor, the socialist Olaf Scholz, supports his permanence, as do other socialists such as the Spanish Pedro Sánchez with whom he has made quite a few good friends. The German one needs both the support of the European capitals and that of the European Parliament.
Curiously, Von der Leyen’s original sin of having been elected without standing in the European elections has forced her to gain the support of the political forces in the European hemicycle, especially those who do not belong to her political family, such as the Greens and the socialists. This has led to hers turning their backs on her for some moments when considering that von der Leyen is going too far in aspects such as the fight against climate change. Hence the controversial vote on the Law for the Restoration of Nature on ecosystems that has given farmers a hard time. The head of the popular Europeans in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, who is also president of the Party, is being one of Von der Leyen’s lashes during this legislature and has publicly disfigured the position of the European Commission in areas such as the protection of Doñana or control of European post-pandemic funds. A complex situation that is cracking the so-called grand-coalition that has dominated European politics for decades, through which socialists and conservatives maintain an entente cordiale and a basic consensus to carry out the great European proposals, with occasional support from liberals.
Despite this tense relationship, everything indicates that blood will not reach the river. The CDU, the political family of Von der Leyen, continues to support her, as party leader Friedrich Merz declared last spring as long as she is willing to continue in office.
Another of the great unknowns is whether, after the fiasco of 2019, the system of heads of list will be put into operation again and if the European political parties will begin to nominate candidates for the European elections who will later become candidates for the Commission, which that would force the European People’s Party to officially designate von der Leyen once she clarifies her future.
In any case, this legislature is already beginning to languish and as a result of this change in cycle, heavyweights such as Frans Timmermans, vice-president in charge of climate change, and Margrethe Vestager, in charge of Competition, who has run to preside over the European Investment Bank, are leaving. .
On September 13, von der Leyen will give his traditional State of the Union speech in the Strasbourg chamber that marks the start of the political course, the last one before the European elections in June this year. He will outline the European Commission’s priorities in the coming months and perhaps give some clues about his political future. In any case, the coming months will be marked by support for Ukraine, the debate on the enlargement to new members and the changes in the European institutional framework, the fight against climate change, the position on China and the reform of the European tax rules before the Stability and Growth Pact comes into force again in 2024, as well as the European energy model and the asylum system.
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