Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, head of Merkel’s Christian Democrat party (CDU), warned her junior coalition partners against blocking the appointment of a German, Ursula von der Leyen, to head the European Commission, saying this would put their coalition under “maximum strain”..
Opposition from the SPD, which is upset at the abandonment of the “Spitzenkandidat” process, could cost Ursula von der Leyen the job. The SPD, which is plumbing new post-war depths in polls as a result of its decision, deeply unpopular with supporters, to prop up Merkel’s government, is divided over whether to stay in the grand coalition for another two years.
Kramp-Karrenbauer, who is expected to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor, also kept open the possibility of deploying ground troops to Syria, a policy that would further strain ties with the Social Democrats, who are traditionally wary of German military engagements.
In an interview with ZDF television, Kramp-Karrenbauer said the SPD would be ill-advised to vote in the European Parliament against appointing Ursula von der Leyen as head of the European Commission.
A week ago, European leaders nominated the German defence minister to head the bloc’s executive after failing to agree on any of the “Spitzenkandidat” nominees put forward by pan-European parties in European Parliament elections.
Under the ‘Spitzenkandidat’ principle, the lead candidate of the party with the most seats has a claim on the European Commission presidency.
Failure to confirm Von der Leyen would pitch European politics into deep crisis – it took three days of haggling for leaders to come up with a candidate with a chance of winning the backing of both leaders and the parliament.
Via Reuters
