President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that France would be by von der Leyen'sside: "Today, Europe bears your face. SEE ALSO: Germany's von der Leyen steps down as defence minister to run for EU's top jobMerkel praised von der Leyen as a "committed and convincing European"who would "tackle with great vigour the challenges facing us as the European Union". A life-long high achiever, von der Leyen has at times drawn envy and animosity for her best-in-class style, the persona of a super-mum with iron discipline and a perfect hairdo that some voters find unnerving. Nonetheless, her success is far from assured given widespread anger that EU leaders, after days of backroom wrangling, chose von der Leyen rather than a European parliamentarian who had campaigned for votes. Von der Leyen faces strong opposition from Social Democrats, Greens and other leftist politicians -- especially SPD politicians from her own country.

Source: The Local July 16, 2019 18:45 UTC