Political storm in Germany over choice of von der Leyen for European Commission chief
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The nomination of German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen as new European Commission chief has sparked fresh tensions within Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fragile coalition that threatened to split her government and cast doubt on her future as chancellor.
Her main coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), vowed to oppose von der Leyen’s candidacy, claiming it “made a mockery of any attempt to democratise the European Union”.
Sigmar Gabriel, a former SPD leader, described the nomination as “an unprecedented act of political trickery” and called for his party to pull out of her government in protest — a move which would deprive Merkel of a majority and could force new elections.
The SPD leadership is furious that Merkel has abandoned the principle that the Commission chief should be one of the lead candidates from the European elections.
Markus Soeder, the leader of Merkel’s Bavarian allies CSU, also cried unfair.
The CSU chief argued that his party’s Manfred Weber, who had stood as the leading candidate for the EPP centre-right bloc that came in top in the European Parliament polls, should be the one replacing Juncker.
But Weber was humiliatingly knocked out of the race, with French President Emmanuel Macron criticising his lack of experience in political leadership roles.
Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament Manfred Weber (L) waits with German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (R) for the beginning of an EPP faction meeting at the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, 03 July 2019. EPA-EFE/PATRICK SEEGER
Bild daily in a commentary called the EU jobs deal “horrifically short-sighted”, complaining that it would perpetuate the idea that ultimately “the bosses will do their own thing” and disregard the people’s vote.
It called on the European Parliament, which will have to vote on the appointment, to reject it outright.
Her chances of securing the post as Commission chief received a boost in Strasbourg on Wednesday, when the European Parliament voted for Italian socialist David Sassoli, a former TV news journalist and a MEP since 2009, to become its president.
Their support suggested that EU leaders were correct in counting on MEPs to back the package of names put together after a marathon 27 hours of summit negotiations over three days.
The parliament is expected to vote on von der Leyen’s candidacy on or around July 15.
