Ursula von der Leyen, who is seeking a second term as President of the European Commission, received broad support from the present members of her political family, the EPP, meeting at a congress in Bucharest.
She obtained 400 votes in favor and 89 votes against.
This appointment of Ursula von der Leyen, aged 65, marks the start of this party's campaign for the European elections from June 6 to 9 with this congress which brings together some 1,500 representatives of the European People's Party (EPP): MEPs, party bosses and no less than 12 EU heads of state or government.
After a mandate shaken by turbulence, from Covid-19 to the war in Ukraine, the former German Defense Minister wants to remain the face of the EU until 2029. “Our peaceful and united Europe is challenged like never before .
By the populists, the nationalists, the demagogues.
Whether it is the extreme right or the extreme left,” Ursula von der Leyen said from the podium.
“Their goal is the same: to trample our values and destroy our Europe.
And we, the EPP, will never let this happen.”
The favorite EPP in the European elections
The first political force in Parliament, the EPP is the favorite in the European elections and displays its power in the Romanian capital, under the leadership of President Klaus Ionise, with the presence of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, his Greek counterparts Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Sweden Ulf Kristersson, or the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
Within the EPP, Ursula von der Leyen “benefits from broad support and her record gives her a positive image,” comments Thierry Chopin, special advisor to the Jacques Delors Institute and visiting professor at the College of Europe (Bruges).
The first woman to occupy this position, she knew how to maneuver “in the face of crises, despite sometimes divisive positions” in foreign policy, on China and the Middle East in particular,” he explained.
Discordant opinions are still being heard, particularly from the French right, which denounces “a form of technocratic drift harming our farmers”.
In the crosshairs, the Green Deal, the main legislative success of the President of the Commission, which has become a scarecrow for the sector mobilized en masse in recent weeks across Europe.
Faced with this discontent and the rise of far-right forces in the polls, Ursula von der Leyen has been making a shift for some time now, muting climate issues.
Another clear shift, the EPP now advocates a transfer of asylum seekers to third countries in the face of migratory pressure, in its manifesto adopted on the first day of the congress.
“We observe that she is looking for votes on her right,” notes the analyst, getting closer in particular to the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (far right) with whom she, for example, appeared in Kiev for the two years of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
VIDEO.
Migration crisis: Ursula von der Leyen and Giorgia Meloni in Lampedusa
Invested by Parliament by a very narrow majority in 2019, “she knows that she must gather as many votes as possible to ensure a majority” if she were to be chosen by the heads of state and government of the Member States combined. to the European Council after the elections.
Second group in number of seats, the European socialists launched their offensive this weekend in Rome with the Luxembourger Nicolas Schmit as headliner, insisting on the "importance" of the vote in the face of the threat of a wave " illiberal” at the ballot box.