Despite the amazing scandals, the pro-war factional discipline won, it was decided by 401 votes, the German politician will lead the executive body of the EU for another five years.

Ursula von der Leyen can once again lead the European Commission, it was decided after heated debates in the European Parliament. The politician, who was embroiled in numerous scandals and highly critical of the Hungarian government, needed 360 votes, but the results were as follows:

For: 401
Against: 284
Withheld: 15
Invalid: 7.

The politician's fate was questionable until the last moment. While he is essentially waging a private war against Hungary, boycotting the consecutive presidency, his supporters have appeared wavering.

By the way, the boycott did not win the favor of many, but it seemed that he had to step in order to get his left-wing supporters to be active - while the probable majority did not stand behind this decision.

And the final straw, it seemed, was his scandal about Covid vaccines, which came at the worst possible time, a few days before the vote.

Preliminary estimates by Euronews were optimistic for Von der Leyen: they calculated that, in addition to the European People's Party (EPP) with 188 seats, S&D (136 seats), Renew Europe (77 seats) and the Greens (53) also officially support her, which It would mean 453 seats compared to the required 360.

The female politician felt cold and hot before the vote; in the debate about the future of Europe, he was primarily attacked by the right wing because of his migration policy.

The Patriots for Europe faction did not support the renewal of Ursula von der Leyen's mandate. Gál Kinga, Fidesz representative of the EP, vice-chairman of the Patriots for Europe faction, spoke about this in his speech as the leader of the representative group in Brussels on Thursday.

"Change is needed! Today, Europe is weaker than it was five years ago," said Kinga Gál in her speech, who also stated that they do not support her because von der Leyen does not take steps for peace, allowed the migration pact to pass, and did not protect children from LGBTQ propaganda.

He added that during his previous presidency, he harmed farmers, weakened Europe's competitiveness, and concluded vaccine contracts suspected of corruption.

According to the keynote speaker, Ursula von der Leyen also weakened the national sovereignty of the member states and used EU procedures and EU resources for political blackmail.

He underlined that he made the application of the double standard a main regulation, while boycotting the Hungarian EU presidency. All of this has harmed Europe - he concluded his speech.

Polish MEP Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik, leader of the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group, said that the president of the European Commission is responsible for "every single rape [and] despicable attack committed by illegal migrants", so he should be in prison place, not at the head of the EC.

Harald Vilimsky, the EP representative of the Austrian FPÖ, defended the Hungarian Prime Minister from Von der Leyen's criticisms and called on the EC President to leave.

By the way, two motions were submitted on Wednesday evening to postpone the vote on the presidency of Ursula von der Leyen, one of them by the German leftist Sahra Wagenknecht, and another by the Left Group of the European Parliament, both of which were rejected.

MTI
Mandiner.hu

Cover photo: Ursula von der Leyen, the current president of the European Commission nominated for re-election by the European People's Party (EPP), before the election at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on July 18, 2024.
Source: MTI/Tamás Purger