In the end Ursula von der Leyen had votes to spare as she secured another five years at the top of European politics.
Some 401 of the 720 members of the European Parliament voted to re-elect her as president of the European Commission. Several weeks ago the vote looked like it would be much closer, as observers frequently pointed out she got over the line by only nine votes when first appointed to the top EU job in 2019.
The mood in Strasbourg, where the European Parliament voted on Thursday, started to shift this week with each day the vote got closer. Predictions that the centre-right German politician would not only be safe, but win by a bigger majority than last time became more and more confident. The sense of peril from the political centre about her possibly falling short faded.
Von der Leyen has made enemies on the left and the right of the political spectrum. On Gaza her comments in the days after the Hamas October 7th attacks were seen as lending Israel unconditional support as it prepared to invade the Palestinian strip. Her ambitious “green deal” climate reforms angered farmers and her more conservative allies.
Ultimately, it seems many MEPs who are no fans of the commission president voted for her when it came down to it. The alternative would have been to send the 27 EU leaders back to square one to come up with another nominee to head the commission, kicking off weeks of instability and arm wrestling.
The vote was by secret ballot so the exact composition of the 401 MEPs who voted for von der Leyen is unknown.
The three centre groupings of the parliament came back with a slimmer majority after the recent European elections. The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), centrists Renew and centre-left Socialists & Democrats (S&D) returned about 400 MEPs between them, a good bit north of the 361 votes needed for a majority.
However, several parties within those groupings said they would not support von der Leyen, meaning she needed votes from elsewhere to make up the difference.
In a stump speech in front of MEPs in the parliament chamber, von der Leyen gave enough commitments to bring the Greens grouping on board, which got her comfortably over the line. A reference to following through on climate reforms and stinging criticism of Hungary’s right-wing populist prime minister Viktor Orban went a long way on that front. She was careful not to sound too green and alienate supporters on her right.
The vote represents a significant political win for von der Leyen, which will strengthen her hand to shape EU policy for the coming years.
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