She wants five more years. After months of speculation, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced her bid to become the lead candidate of the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) for the upcoming European elections in June,
Politico reports.
Von der Leyen made the announcement during a press conference at an event from her center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Berlin on Monday.
This puts her in prime position to snatch a second term at the helm of the EU’s powerful executive arm, focusing on a platform of increased defence spending.
The former German defense minister was instrumental in showcasing the EU’s continued support to Ukraine at it sought to fend off Russia’s full-scale invasion, with numerous trips to the country’s capital.
Through thick and thin, the Commission’s first female chief has steered the bloc through a worldwide pandemic and the first major conflict on European soil in decades.
It was also during her term that EU leaders decided to politically open accession talks with Kyiv last December, on her Commission’s recommendation.
A close ally to former Chancellor Angela Merkel, von der Leyen can be considered the most powerful Commission chief since Jacques Delors, a giant of European politics who died in December and is widely credited for engineering the bloc’s internal market.
Despite her undeniable capacity to act decisively in times of hardship, the former German minister’s iron-fist leadership style has sometimes put her at odds with EU capitals, whose support she will need to secure a second term. Still she is likely to gain support from the European Council. Only Hungary has been openly critical about her leadership.
On a range of sensitive topics, from her support to Israel in its war against Hamas to her China policy, she made decisions without consulting member states, sparking ire from EU diplomats — and her own commissioners — forced to play catch-up.
