In itself, that won’t weaken von der Leyen. Von der Leyen’s nomination was the result of a rejection by EU leaders of the spitzenkandidat system, in which parliamentary groups nominated “lead candidates” for the presidency. Von der Leyen also criticised global tech giants who “play” the European tax system and proposed a gender-equal college of commissioners. It didn’t go unnoticed this week that von der Leyen did not mention “article 7” – the rule of law enforcement mechanism that has caused such friction with Hungary and Poland. The more long-term problem suggested by von der Leyen’s struggle for votes is that she could find it difficult to form a working majority for her policy plans.

Source: The Irish Times July 17, 2019 17:26 UTC