Moderate praise for von der Leyen, yet only one-third opt for her retention.
A study with conflicting outcomes: Plenty of Germans support Ursula von der Leyen as EU Commission President, but few want her to have a second term in office.
Just days before the European elections, a recent poll presents both pleasing and troublesome news for EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The favorable news: Almost half of the Germans believe she's performed well during the previous five years. The downside: Just a minor segment desires her to retain her position.
Ursula von der Leyen is the recommended candidate for the EPP, the European People's Party, which encompasses the CDU and CSU as well. She's not pursuing a seat in the European Parliament, instead aiming to remain Commission President. To attain this, she requires approval from the European Council (the governments of the member states) and the European Parliament. Increased EPP support enhances her chances.
On the matter of how Ursula von der Leyen has fulfilled the role of Commission President overall, 48% of Germans deem her performance "good" or "very good." Conversely, 42% assess it as "less good" or "bad."
This survey yet again illustrates that von der Leyen and her own party aren't always in accord: Approval for the CDU politician is more prevalent among supporters of the Greens and FDP than among followers of the Union parties. A whopping 68% of the supporters of the Greens and FDP rate von der Leyen as having performed a "good" or "very good" job, while only 59% of those from the CDU and CSU feel the same.
The breakdown of approval based on party allegiance explains why merely a limited minority of Germans are fine with von der Leyen continuing as Commission President for another five years. A meager 38% desire a second term for the CDU politician. A substantial 51% disagree.
Among backers of the CDU and CSU, only 55% endorse a second term for von der Leyen as Commission President. Predictably, lower approval exists among supporters of other parties. She garners the most acceptance in this category, with 51% amongst the SPD supporters.
This data was procured by the market and opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of RTL Germany on May 31 and June 3. Dataset: 1001 respondents. Margin of error: plus-minus 3 percentage points.
For more details regarding Forsa, visit their website. https://www.rtl.de/nachrichten/deutschland/deutschland-aktuell/umfrage-ursula-von-der-leyen-kommissionsprasidentin-evp-europawahl-forsa-100.html
