Von Der Leyen To Seek Second EU Term As Far-right Strength Grows

Berlin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Feb, 2024) Ursula von der Leyen is poised to announce Monday her bid for a second term as chief of the European Commission, at a time when the bloc's unity faces strong headwinds from the far-right.

At the helm since 2019, the 65-year-old had led the bloc's executive body as the EU traversed an extraordinary period of disruptions -- from Brexit to the coronavirus pandemic to Russia's invasion of its pro-EU neighbour Ukraine.

Hendrik Wuest, a key figure in von der Leyen's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Germany, said her new bid would be a much needed constant at a time of uncertainties.

"A second term would be a sign of stability, that is all the more needed at a time when our European values are being attacked from all sides," he told news site Politico.

Von der Leyen's candidacy is expected to be announced at around midday at a press conference at the CDU's headquarters in Berlin.

The broader alliance of conservatives across the bloc -- the European People's Party group to which the CDU belongs -- would then name her as its lead candidate for the post in Bucharest on March 6-7, EPP leader Manfred Weber has said.

Von der Leyen, a protege of former German chancellor Angela Merkel who has served as minister on all four of her cabinets, is the first woman to lead the commission.

A second von der Leyen commission would likely find itself with a changed political landscape.

Voter surveys suggest extreme-right, anti-immigrant parties across Europe will grab more seats in European Parliament elections on June 6-9, pushing the legislature to the right.

That could slow progress towards European Union green transition that von der Leyen had made a cornerstone of her first term. It could also grow the cohort of European lawmakers sympathetic to Donald Trump should he regain the White House.