Ursula von der Leyen will lead the EU Commission for another five years after an absolute majority of 401 MEPs in the European Parliament voted in her favor on Thursday. In her campaign speech, the German CDU politician said that the ban on combustion cars should be softened through the introduction of exceptions for e-fuels and that the bloc's external borders are to be better protected. Europe's press takes stock.
The EU still has the power to act
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Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung regards von der Leyen's re-election as a notable success:
“The results with which Ursula von der Leyen has been re-elected as President of the European Commission are significantly better than five years ago. .... She has managed to secure a solid majority in the EU's multi-national parliament, where there is no strong party discipline. ... At a time when France only has a caretaker government, Germany is having problems just putting together a budget, and America could be about to change course, von der Leyen's election has at least provided one certainty: the EU still has the power to act.”
Avoiding chaos was the goal
The result of the vote is somewhat deceptive, explains Slovenia’s Dnevnik:
“The fact that she was able to garner significantly more votes than expected is primarily due to the geopolitical situation. Despite their dissatisfaction with von der Leyen, many MEPs in the now four-party coalition apparently swallowed their pride and voted to preserve the stability of the coalition. ... In these critical times, the majority have no interest in letting the ego-driven personnel carousel of certain individuals throw the EU off course, causing chaos in Brussels that would only strengthen the forces they want to fight: the European far right with EU Council President Viktor Orbán at the helm, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.”
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Sacrificing principles to stay in power
Von der Leyen seems less interested in policies than in power, the UK’s The Spectator criticizes:
“The Green New Deal will be watered down. There will be a drive to roll back rules and regulations. And there will be far tougher control of the borders. ... Von der Leyen has been exposed as a politician who believes in nothing except, of course, in herself and remaining in power. After championing one version of the EU for her first four years[sic], she will now dismantle much of that work over the next four[sic] and drive through a very different set of policies. ... At the expense of sacrificing whatever principles she might have once had.”
She won't be able to keep her promises
In view of growing skepticism towards the EU, the head of the European Commission has her work cut out for her, Switzerland’s Tages-Anzeiger observes:
“In her campaign speech, Ursula von der Leyen promised a great deal that she will not be able to deliver – 'more Europe' in particular. Of course, this was also necessary in view of Donald Trump's potential comeback as US president – for example regarding a common defense policy or Europe's competitiveness. However, nothing can be achieved without the member states. Governments in these countries are feeling the impact of the election successes of Eurosceptics and outspoken EU haters. It's not only Berlin and Paris that lack the vision, courage and élan to take further steps towards integration. Disillusionment is therefore inevitable.”
The dam of democracy must hold
The first hurdle in the newly elected European Parliament has been taken, but the defenses must hold in the long term, warns Belgium’s Le Soir:
“Ursula von der Leyen quite rightly says that democracy is under attack, from outside as well as from within, in its heart, the Parliament, which is elected by universal suffrage. The Commission President rightly emphasizes that she 'will never accept that demagogues and extremists destroy our European way of life'. She rightly calls on all democratic forces to fight this battle together. ... This 'democratic front' has held for three days, at least against the troops led by Bardella, AfD and their allies – the ECR is not included in the cordon sanitaire. The dam must hold for five years.”
A real help to Greece
The conservative Greek daily Eleftheros Typos comments with enthusiasm:
“The re-election of the outgoing president is also very good news for Greece, not only because she has an excellent relationship with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis – together with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, he was one of the two leaders who nominated her as the candidate of the European People's Party – but also because she has stood by our country in difficult times. From the crisis in Evros involving migrants motivated to go there by Turkey to the massive financial aid for our country from the recovery fund, with the highest per capita subsidies – Ms von der Leyen has been a real help to Greece.”
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