Von der Leyen re-elected by the European Parliament for a second term in office for an enlarged ‘grand coalition’

In a secret ballotVon der Leyen has won a total of 401 votes, 41 more than the 360 ​​she needed for re-election. In 2019, her margin of victory was just 9 votes. The German has had the majority support of the European People’s Party, the Socialists and Democrats and the liberals of Renew. But she has also managed to add to her platform the group of the Greens, which in the previous legislature did not participate in the ‘grand coalition’. However, the president has suffered a considerable loss of votes, since the four groups add up to 454 seats.

A total of 284 MEPs voted against, while 15 abstained. Of the three radical right-wing groups, two had already announced their ‘no’ in advance.: the Patriots for Europe of Viktor Orbán, Marine Le Pen and Vox; and the Europe of Sovereign Nations of Alternative for Germany. The third, the European Conservatives and Reformists (where Giorgia Meloni and the Polish Law and Justice party are members), despite its initial doubts, has largely followed the same path. The 24 MEPs of the Brothers of Italy have rejected the German proposalalthough Meloni abstained when European leaders appointed her. The radical left group also voted ‘no’.

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To achieve the investiture, Von der Leyen has presented a A detailed but vague program government that collects requests from all the groups that have supported its renewal. The main novelty is the promise of a European Plan for Affordable Housing to address the price crisis affecting the entire continent. Von der Leyen has also proposed moving towards a genuine European Defence Union, tripling the strength of the European Border and Coast Guard to 15,000 troops and continue with the European Green Deal.

Once she has been confirmed by the European Parliament, the next step for Von der Leyen is set up your new college of commissioners. To do this, each Member State must nominate one or more candidates, who will be interviewed by the President before deciding on the portfolio distribution.

The Spanish appointee is the third vice president, Teresa Riberawho hopes to lead a macro-department to combat climate change and green industry. Future commissioners will have to undergo hearings in Parliament, which must approve the college as a whole by a simple majority. If there are no setbacks, Von der Leyen’s second term will begin on November 1.

In the pre-investiture debate, the co-president of the Greens group, Terry Reinkehas justified his support for the German by the need to curb the far right. “If you ask me if Ursula von der Leyen is a green candidate or has presented a green programme, my answer is no. But we have negotiated hard and reached compromises in recent weeks and the crucial thing for me is that the majority that prevails today is a majority of pro-democracy groups in this House. Because We must prevent the far right from coming to power or have an impact on EU policies,” he said.

In contrast, the leader of the radical left group, Manon Aubryhas lashed out at Von der Leyen, whom he has accused of living in an “ivory tower.”I know that you earn more than 30,000 euros a month. “But do you know that one in three Europeans has to skip meals?” he said. “We refuse to participate in the masquerade of your grand coalition of death. Your Europe is not ours, Mrs von der Leyen. In contrast to your Europe of austerity and the market, we will defend the Europe of solidarity and humanity,” he said.

The three radical right groups have also been very critical of the president. “To continue as if nothing had happened with the Green Pact or the immigration imposed by the Migration Pact would be to ignore the new situation that emerged from the ballot boxes (in the European elections of 9-J). In coherence, and out of responsibility, the Patriots for Europe “They will oppose her re-election,” the group’s leader told Von der Leyen, Jordan Bardella.

For his part, the co-president of the European Conservatives and Reformists He has reproached Von der Leyen for relying on the “big losers” in the 9-J elections, who in his opinion were the Greens, the Liberals and the Socialists. “Thanks to the results of the European elections, and thanks above all to the results of the national elections in the Member States, our fellow citizens are overwhelmingly have embraced the common sense ideas of the centre-right“I think you should take this into account,” Nicola Proccacini told him.

But she has been the spokesperson for the Europe of Sovereign Nations The one who has made the most aggressive and worst-intentioned intervention. “How is it that you are not ashamed of having promoted the Migration Pact, which means that millions of women and children in Europe feel in danger on the streets? You are responsible for every rape, every attack and every tragedy caused by illegal migrants because you invited them to come to Europe. And that’s why he should go to jail.“Polish Ewa Zajaczkowska-Hernik, from the ultra-Confederation party, told von der Leyen.