Pablo R. SuanzesSpecial Envoy Bucharest
Special Envoy Bucharest
Updated Thursday, March 7, 2024-13:48
UE Von der Leyen advocates using frozen assets from Russia to buy weapons and ammunition for Ukraine
Today in Bucharest, the European People's Party enthroned Ursula von der Leyen as its 'spitzenkandidat', its favorite to continue a second term as president of the European Commission.
Von der Leyen reached the first community division in July 2019, when the leaders of the 27 were looking for names for senior positions.
It was an idea of
Emmanuel Macron that
Angela Merkel
supported
and managed to unlock a summit lasting more than three days.
She has become the president with probably the most power and influence in the history of the institution.
She is undoubtedly the best known globally and among European citizens.
The phone everyone knows to call.
It is practically impossible that if she wants to and with the official support of the largest and strongest party on the continent she does not repeat.
And yet, among her people, her candidacy arouses anything but enthusiasm.
This Thursday only 499 of the 801 accredited delegates voted
, and the German only got 400 votes in favor, 50%.
There were 89 who voted against, but another 400 who preferred to abstain rather than support a leader they find distant,
"too cold"
or even opposed to the interests they believe the party should represent.
The same thing that happens to her on a personal level happens to a certain extent to her party.
He is expected to be the most voted again
, almost as always.
He has every chance to retain not only the Commission, but surely the presidency of the European Parliament, at least for two and a half years.
But either due to conformity, or due to lack of charisma, the PPE, a well-oiled machine with unparalleled punching capacity, appears somewhat dull, misplaced.
In this Congress he has decided to take a turn to the right, or rather to strengthen that position already outlined a year ago, especially on immigration issues and (opposition to the) green agenda.
Von der Leyen is their best option, but they don't quite trust him.
In his first term he reached out to the socialists, liberals and the greens because he needed their support in Parliament to carry out his initiatives, but the EPP believes that he has sought them out too much and has not defended the interests of his political family.
And now
they demand that he get closer to right-wing voters
, that he seek alliances with the rest of the conservative groups, that he reverse some of his policies.
His own party does not know very well how to analyze the phenomenon and the problem.
They have
Roberta Metsola
, much more enthusiastic, active, energetic.
To
Manfred Weber
, more ideological, tougher, tougher.
They have prime ministers who do go to the polls.
But she is the one who has caught on.
A good part of the CSU's own leadership does not support it, but they admit its tactical genius, rather than its strategic one.
And they have to deal with her, who tries to maintain her balance.
To be successful in the next five years she needs her people, but also Macron, Pedro Sánchez
's deputies
(the Spanish Iratxe García is at the head of the European socialists) or
Giorgia Meloni
.
This Thursday in Bucharest Von der Leyen had to swallow frogs and defend that the EPP's migration program and its Manifesto "is in line with European law and international obligations", but it is one thing to assume that speech and another to put it into practice from the Commission.
These discrepancies, frictions, were reflected in an organic, orderly, sober Congress.
There was no epic, excitement or enthusiasm.
It was not generated by the speech of
Donald Tusk,
former president of the European Council and brand new Polish prime minister.
Neither did the Greek
Mitsotakis
, who the day before barely escaped after some missiles exploded a few hundred meters from the caravan in which he was traveling with
Volodymyr Zelensky
.
Nor the rest.
But just because it wasn't a festive event doesn't mean it wasn't relevant.
It is to agree on a message, speech, general guidelines.
To close ranks and tell all the delegations that in 2024 the priorities are common and there is no room for disagreement or disagreement.
Their best asset, they think, is the image of unity, coherence, management
, and the idea of economy.
And they must combine it with a steamroller on the rest of the main issues: migration, rule of law, green transition, agriculture.
So far it has worked for them, but with each passing legislature there are more buts.