Good morning from Brussels, Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected as European Commission president on Thursday after a long speech in the European Parliament in which she reached out to the centrist and left-wing parties but excluded the far right. She convinced 401 members to vote in her favour, giving her a lead of 41 votes, compared to the nine votes she secured in 2019. One could argue that von der Leyen has a strong mandate and a comfortable position to govern from, but in reality, the German Commissioner will have to navigate a much trickier political landscape. Indeed, she benefited from the voices of the EPP, the Socialists, the Liberals, and a substantial part of the Greens, making it a more left-leaning coalition that will expect her to deliver. As even some ECR lawmakers reluctantly voted in her favour, von der Leyen must now balance the expectations of this diverse support with a more right-wing Council.
This complexity is already palpable in her own country, where her re-election has already reignited the feud between the ruling Liberals and the opposition EPP, citing concerns that von der Leyen did not rule out new common EU debt. So, what now? Ursula von der Leyen will have to continue meeting with the representatives of the EU countries to decide on the attribution of portfolios—including the new ones like Mediterranean and housing —and their remits. Each country will table two names, a man and a woman, except if the name is already in her college (such as France’s Thierry Breton). Von der Leyen has until the end of August to devise an equilibrium that will satisfy both the heavyweights and the smaller countries. The Parliament will then proceed to hear the candidates in the relevant committees after the summer, and the full College of Commissioners must then be approved by the Parliament. | 