EU Commission President von der Leyen up for re-election
Ursula von der Leyen has announced her intention to run for a second term as President of the European Commission. She made the announcement after a meeting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party at which she was nominated as lead candidate for the European elections. Commentators discuss whether and why the former German defence minister is the right person for the post again.
A good candidate
Dagens Nyheter welcomes the announcement:
“The main reason why she is a good candidate is that she understands that the EU must act as one in security policy in a world where authoritarian leaders in Russia and China are taking over and the US is behaving increasingly unpredictably. When the crises broke out, she was there to answer the phone. Ursula von der Leyen's time as president of the Commission has been marked by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In both cases, she played a key role in keeping the bloc together and shifting gears.”
Not right for the task ahead
According to Zeit Online, Ursula von der Leyen is too flexible in her convictions:
“That she reacts to pressure may not be a bad thing in itself. The only question is: does she do it because she can be persuaded or because she wants to cling on to power? ... She had no problem, for example, showing up in Tunis with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to present a migration agreement that had been quickly knocked together. ... In the coming years, Europe will shift further to the right, which could lead to a weakening of the bloc. Whether von der Leyen is the right person to deal with these internal upheavals is doubtful. ... Because in the past she was mostly where the majority was.”
Room for improvement on transparency
There is one area in which the Commission head can improve, says Die Presse:
“If von der Leyen were to be graded on her first term in office, she would get a 'very good' for discipline, a 'good' for her ability to react in crises and an 'adequate' for the reforms she has initiated. Her worst mark would be on transparency. This is because, although the German answers questions from the EU Parliament and EU government representatives on a regular basis, she remains more than reserved in her dealings with the public. This may be part of her power politics aimed at creating an invisible backyard in which she can act as freely as possible.”
She has given Europe a face
El País is impressed:
“Von der Leyen has become an important player on the European and even the world stage in the last five years. Perhaps for the first time, Brussels now has a face for a large part of the public. ... From the outset her mandate was marked by unforeseen events of enormous proportions: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and galloping inflation. Her strong political personality and her energetic responses to many of these crises have strongly enhanced the former German defence minister's political, media and social prestige.”
Lacking support from her own ranks
The French member party of the EPP, Les Républicains, seems less than enthusiastic, observes Mediapart:
“Not only do they disagree with the political line (on free trade agreements, nuclear power, EU enlargement to include Ukraine and the agricultural part of the Green Deal), but they also find that Ursula von der Leyen has paid little attention to their opinions throughout her term of office. ... If von der Leyen has cultivated her relationship with Sánchez or Macron more than with some EPP delegations, it is also with a certain intention: she knows that after the elections in June, the leaders of the 27 member states will decide around the Council table whether or not to approve her for a second term.”
New political priorities
Von der Leyen is already preparing to face strengthened nationalist-populist groups in the EU elections, Lidové noviny comments:
“Von der Leyen has already come under fire from these groups, mainly because of the Commission's plans to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050 with the Green Deal. ... This is another reason why her proposal to appoint a defence commissioner and her support for the development of the European defence industry can be seen as an expression of new political priorities aimed at adapting to a potential new balance of power in the European Parliament.”