Ursula von der Leyen has completed her triumph and also obtained the confidence of her new Commission, despite the controversies and divisions of recent weeks. But out of the 720 members of the European Parliament, only 370 supported her, 31 votes less than those she obtained for her personal investiture in July, and the lowest number in history. There were 282 against and 36 abstentions. Along the way, the German People’s Party lost the consensus of half of the Greens, of various national delegations of the Socialists, and of a part of its own People’s Party, but gained that of the Brothers of Italy and part of the conservatives. “When it looks to the right, the von der Leyen Commission is weaker”, was the comment of the PD delegation head Nicola Zingaretti.
370 votes. When it looks to the right the Von der Leyen Commission is weaker.
— Nicola Zingaretti (@nzingaretti) November 27, 2024
In recent weeks, the German popular woman has shown that she has become a skilled and experienced politician, capable of navigating troubled waters and resolving political crises with compromises and concessions. The process that led to the trust of his new team was more bumpy than ever. It was the choice of Raffaele Fitto as vice president that caused the loss of the support of a part of the greens and socialists, while the choice of the Spanish socialist Teresa Ribera lost the support of a part (albeit small) of the popular ones. Very high tensions have arisen in the official majority that should support the new executive, the one made up of popular people, socialists and liberals.
What complicated things above all was the (successful) attempt by the leader of the EPP, Manfred Weber, to broaden the majority to Giorgia Meloni’s Conservatives and reformists, or at least to part of them. And he succeeded, showing that when he wants he can form a group with all the forces of the radical right and pass legislative measures against his own allies.
In this situation von der Leyen was able to not displease anyone (or at least not too much). He got the green light for Ribera by satisfying the socialists, he got the green light for Fitto, satisfying the popular ones and Meloni, he won back the Greens (or at least part of them) by choosing their old leader as his personal advisor. And so it finally got the green light from the European Parliament. Now from December 1st the new Commission will take office for a five-year government that promises to be more turbulent than ever.
