From von der Leyen comes the vast embrace
Achieved: Ursula von der Leyen is re-elected as the EU Commission President by the European Parliament. She manages to distribute candies to many parties, from left to right. Everyone is somewhat satisfied, but they all have to make sacrifices.
Nobody is completely satisfied in the end - that's the nature of democratic compromises. The European Union, with its 27 member states and 200 parties in the European Parliament, makes these compromises particularly complicated. Ursula von der Leyen has managed to secure a warm embrace once again: Through the presentation of her program, she was able to convince a majority of European MPs to re-elect her as Commission President. 401 MPs voted for her, 284 against her, there were 15 abstentions. Seven votes were invalid. Von der Leyen thus reached the necessary majority of 360 votes.
During the debate prior to the vote, von der Leyen faced strong opposition from all corners of the parliamentary spectrum. While the French Liberals reacted positively to her speech, the FDP announced before the vote that they would withhold their votes. The promises in von der Leyen's guidelines for the coming five years were not enough, according to the chairwoman of the five FDP European MPs, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, as she informed her spokesperson. Von der Leyen did not clearly reject common European debts.
The Greens were also frustrated. "If you ask me: Is Ursula von der Leyen a green Commission candidate, have they given us the necessary political green guidelines? Then I can tell you: no," said Terry Reintke, co-chair of the Green faction in the European Parliament. In the past weeks, von der Leyen had also intensively negotiated with the Greens. The result was disappointing for Reintke, her faction had made many "compromises". She hinted that her fraction colleagues would vote for von der Leyen - but rather out of a sense of duty: "What is crucial for me: There must be a majority of pro-democratic factions in this house. We must prevent the far-right from gaining power."
New Commissioner for Cooperation in the Mediterranean
In her efforts to remain in office, von der Leyen courted the support of both the far-right Fratelli d'Italia of Italy's Minister President Georgia Meloni and the Greens. Since there is no faction discipline in the European Parliament, von der Leyen had to reckon with many dissenters in her informal coalition of Conservatives, Liberals, and Social Democrats during the vote, and also win over other parties.
A member of Meloni's party is Nicola Procaccini, co-chair of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR) faction. Procaccini warned von der Leyen in the debate against relying on the "losers" of the Greens, Liberals, and Social Democrats. He deliberately withheld an endorsement for the parties in his faction, he said. This sounded relatively conciliatory - after all, he did not exclude the possibility of supporting von der Leyen's second term. Since it is a secret ballot, at the end no one can check whether both the Greens and the Fratelli have voted for von der Leyen. It is possible, despite the warnings from both sides.
Von der Leyen indeed attempted to win over all parties with her program. The offer to Meloni's party: more engagement to tackle migration into the EU. She promised a tripling of personnel for the EU border and coast guard agency Frontex, from 10,000 to 30,000 employees. Moreover, she set her sights on concluding more migration agreements for efficient returns - a major demand of Meloni. A special commission post for cooperation in the Mediterranean was also proposed by Von der Leyen. Possibly, this could be filled by the Fratelli. Meloni had repeatedly demanded a portfolio in the commission for one of her party friends in recent weeks.
Moreover, Von der Leyen praised the spring-passed Migration Pact as a "big step forward". The Greens had opposed the Pact, including for humanitarian reasons. They reject the strict asylum policy of Meloni.
For the Greens, Von der Leyen had something else: the "Clean Industrial Deal", which she intends to present within the first 100 days of her second term. It should ensure a business-friendly implementation of the ambitious EU Climate Agenda "Green Deal". "This will contribute to the creation of leading markets for everything, from clean steel to clean technologies", said Von der Leyen. At the same time, she sent reassuring signals to her conservative European People's Party (EVP), which accuses her of making too many concessions to the Greens in her politics. Von der Leyen emphasized that the "Clean Industrial Deal" is about reconciling climate protection and a thriving economy.
The Social Democrats also received bonbons, including a new commission post for housing. And there was a gift for all factions of the political center: For the first time, Von der Leyen attacked Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban sharply in one of her speeches. Orban had irritated his European partners by paying an unscheduled visit to Russian President Putin at the beginning of his EU Council presidency.
Orban advocated "Peace", but in fact meant the Putin-desired dictator peace, which would amount to a capitulation of Ukraine. "Two weeks ago, an EU prime minister traveled to Moscow. This so-called peace mission was nothing more than a conciliatory mission", said Von der Leyen. In recent years, Liberals, Greens, Social Democrats, and even members of the EVP had urged Von der Leyen to exert more pressure on the Russia-friendly Orban. Ultraright and other Russia supporters were explicitly excluded from Von der Leyen's broad embrace.
The European Commission's Climate Agenda, known as the Green Deal, is a major focus of Ursula von der Leyen's politics. She promised a business-friendly implementation of this deal, aiming to create leading markets for clean technologies and industrial sectors. However, this has caused concerns within her conservative European People's Party (EVP).
Giorgia Meloni, the Minister President of Italy and a notable EU-Politician, represents the far-right Fratelli d'Italia party. She strongly advocated for migration policies and a more pronounced stance against Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is known for his Russia-friendly stance.
In her bid to secure re-election, Von der Leyen sought the support of various factions, including Meloni's party and the Greens. This required navigating the complex politics of the EU, with its 27 member states and 200 parties in the European Parliament, and dealing with dissenters within her informal coalition.
To win over the Fratelli d'Italia, Von der Leyen proposed the creation of a special commission post for cooperation in the Mediterranean. This could potentially be filled by a member of Meloni's party, fulfilling her recent demands for a portfolio within the Commission.
In her efforts to address climate warming, Von der Leyen also introduced the Clean Industrial Deal. This initiative aims to reconcile climate protection with a thriving economy, which could potentially appease her conservative EVP supporters who have expressed concerns about her environmental policies.
The EU Commission President faced opposition from all corners of the parliamentary spectrum, including the French Liberals and the FDP. Despite these challenges, Von der Leyen managed to secure a majority vote, re-affirming her role as the EU Commission President.
Terry Reintke, co-chair of the Green faction in the European Parliament, expressed disappointment with Von der Leyen's lack of clear commitment to common European debts and green guidelines. Nonetheless, she hinted at potential support for Von der Leyen to prevent the far-right from gaining power in the European Parliament.
The Brothers of Italy, a far-right party in Italy, advocated for stricter migration policies and a more assertive stance against Russia-friendly politicians like Viktor Orban. In her attempts to secure support from various factions, Von der Leyen had to balance these demands against the concerns and expectations of other EU parties.
The European Parliament, a crucial body in EU politics, represents the diverse opinions and interests of its 27 member states. The re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as the EU Commission President required navigating this intricate web of political alliances and compromises.
