Ursula von der Leyen: Europe’s top bureaucrat is on shaky ground as EU elections begin

Almost 400 million Europe an citizens are due to vote for representatives from their country to the Europe an Parliament between June 6 and 9. The results of the elections will have an influence on who becomes the next president of the Europe an Commission, one of the most powerful jobs in Europe an politics.

There are intense debates among national leaders and in the European Parliament over issues such as the future of European integration and progress in key areas including climate change. It’s looking like a challenging feat for von der Leyen to build the majority she needs in both EU institutions to keep her job.

At the same time, there’s been democratic backsliding among member states, while Eurosceptic and populist governments have been brought to power in several countries including Slovakia, Italy, and, most recently, the Netherlands. She has shown strong leadership in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Von der Leyen was the first European politician to travel to Kyiv after the invasion, and to raise the idea of Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Her commission was also key in preparing sanctions against Russia.

Strong leadership in difficult times Leading the EU is like steering a huge vessel, and stormy waters make it even more difficult. When the situation escalated in Israel and Gaza in late 2023, von der Leyen immediately adopted a pro-Israel stance, ignoring EU member states with different positions on Israel and Palestine.

Her leadership style is certainly not without flaws. Her rivals have bemoaned the fact that she communicates with a limited number of trusted advisers and is not sufficiently connected to her commission.

Europe European Commission European Elections 2024 Giorgia Meloni Give Me Perspective Pandemic Russia-Ukraine Ursula Von Der Leyen Far Right Politics

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