Ursula von der Leyen has won five more years as European Union chief executive, even though her first term was marred by the Ukraine war, coronavirus authoritarianism and widespread uprisings against globalist environmental policies. He threw himself into the ring for a year’s term. .
Ursula von der Leyen announced her second term as European Commission president for German broadcaster NTV during a meeting in Berlin with members of the federal executive committee of the centrist Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He told the party leadership of his intentions. report.
The German politician will have to wait until after June’s European Parliament elections to formally apply to remain at the helm of the EU’s powerful executive branch. After the election, candidates for the post will be submitted to Congress for a vote by the faction that received the most votes in the election. According to current forecasts, von der Leyen’s European People’s Party (EPP) group is expected to remain the largest party in parliament.
The EPP will almost certainly support her nomination, but it remains to be seen whether Ms von der Leyen will be able to secure enough votes from other groups in parliament to secure a second term.
In 2019, followers of former German Chancellor Angela Merkl narrowly crossed the threshold by nine votes in the then 751-seat parliament, but groups in her home country of Germany criticized her scandal-ridden identity as a German. He refused to support her candidacy because of her tenure. The Minister of Defense called the German military “devastating” situation.
Nevertheless, she ultimately took office with the support of neoliberal leaders in other European countries, including French President Emmanuel Macron. was praised Von der Leyen was praised at the time for having “the DNA of the European community”.
In fact, the politician of German descent was born and raised in Brussels and attended the “European School”, an elite school set up by EU pioneers to educate the children of diplomats and civil servants. Von der Leyen’s father, Ernst Albrecht, was one of the first European civil servants and helped establish the European Commission, which she now runs, in 1958. Consolidating her upper class status, she married into the von der Leyen family, Germany’s elite silk merchants. She married Heiko von der Leyen in 1986.
WEF: EU chief von der Leyen calls for censorship of ‘industrial-scale disinformation’ at Davoshttps://t.co/gOgXjTfVeq
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 17, 2024
Her status as the clear front-runner to become the next European Commission President, and her recognition by Forbes magazine as the world’s most powerful woman in both 2022 and 2023, have made her popular with traditional media. Despite the flattering praise, von der Leyen’s first term was defined by chaos. Authoritarianism is increasing in many ways.
During the Chinese coronavirus crisis that hit the world a year after taking office in Brussels, the EU chief was one of the leading voices globally for lockdowns and mandatory coronavirus vaccinations, and also announced a new coronavirus passport. was at the forefront of promoting this.
Even though the virus has largely subsided, she continues to push for the implementation of global health systems, with the World Health Organization last year marking the European Commission’s digital coronavirus certification as “continuous and continuing”. The company announced that it will be adopted as the basis of its own system for “medical care.” future health threats.”
Under her leadership, the EU has also used the coronavirus crisis as one of its justifications to introduce even stricter censorship measures, with the so-called Digital Services Act (DSA) cracking down on online disinformation and hate speech. was implemented last year.
Farage says EU has gone ‘mad with power’ due to coronavirus restrictions and ‘I’m glad we left’ https://t.co/qmdljhXXHs
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 3, 2021
Following the disaster of coronavirus lockdowns that caused massive inflation across Europe, and after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the EU’s economic situation worsened even further with the outbreak of war on the horizon, the EU said. Foreign Affairs Minister Josep Borrell took several months to make the admission. In late October, Brussels was completely caught off guard by the invasion, stating that Brussels “did not believe that war was coming” and that the leadership was “pretty reluctant to believe it. ” he said.
The Ukraine war exposed the EU’s fundamental weakness in relying on Russian gas and oil to support its environmental policies, but former President Donald Trump’s warnings against it were largely ignored by von der Leyen and others. .
Despite being plunged into a full-blown energy crisis following the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany, EU leaders said last week that the bloc’s response would rather focus on so-called green energy sources such as wind and solar power. He declared that the goal should be to double energy sources. than following the far more successful and reliable hydraulic fracturing model adopted by the United States.
The rise of right-wing populist parties, which are expected to make significant gains in June’s European Parliament elections, may force Ms von der Leyen to soften her green goals.
The rise of populist parties is largely a result of public opposition to open border policies championed by Ms von der Leyen and her former chancellor, Angela Merkel. But the populist party is also aligned with a massive uprising of farmers across Europe in response to a slew of environmental regulations imposed during von der Leyen’s first term.
Last month’s protests, in which farmers on tractors shut down major highways and jammed the capital, have already prompted Prime Minister von der Leyen to back away from some green initiatives, including scrapping anti-meat propaganda. However, it appears that agricultural groups intend to continue to put pressure on Brussels during the election period and possibly beyond.
Thousands of farmers blockade Brussels during EU summit; PM Orbán joins farmers in need of ‘new leadership’ https://t.co/gbsgzs7zZd
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 2, 2024
