Von der Leyen's second term isn't as safe as you think
03 June 2024
Ursula von der Leyen's flirting with the far-right might backfire. This week, Green party Members of the European Parliament said they won't support her bid for a second term as the Commission President if she makes a deal with right-wing nationalists.
Terry Reintke, the Greens' joint lead candidate, said the party would not join a coalition with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the right-wing party of Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The Greens' warning follows similar statements from high-ranking European socialists, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Von der Leyen, from the conservative European People’s Party (EPP), has suggested she's open to working with the ECR if centre-left and liberal parties don't have a majority. Nationalist and far-right parties are expected to make gains in the coming elections, whereas the Greens and social democrats are expected to lose votes compared with the 2019 elections.
If nominated for a second term, von der Leyen will need to secure an absolute majority of the new parliament’s 720 MEPs. Her own EPP will likely remain the biggest force in the parliament, but she'll still need the support of a broader coalition. Green MEPs did not vote for von der Leyen in 2019, but she gained support from green leaders later with her initial commitment to the EU Green Deal. However, following the farmers' protests and bouts of lobbying from various industries, significant proposals in the Green Deal have been watered down or scrapped.
Paul Krantz Sandrine Dixson-Declève, a climate policy thought leader who has worked with EU leaders including von der Leyen, told The European Correspondent that failed environmental policies have allowed the right to hijack the narrative. Whereas good climate policies would also make peoples' lives more equitable, right-wing parties portray climate protections as if they will add a cost or burden to citizens. "I think the EPP has done a very good job creating a fear of the Greens, [as if] they're only going to think about green climate policies and not about social policies," Dixson-Declève said. She added that following the farmers' protests, she wrote to von der Leyen suggesting better access to funding for small farmers – rather than gutting environmental protections (which is what happened). If right-wing parties achieve a majority in the coming elections, and if von der Leyen joins an alliance with them, it could mean the reversal of key environmental protections and a harsher stance on immigration. |
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