Politico: Ursula von der Leyen likely to be re-elected as European Commission president

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will likely be re-elected for a second term in 2024.

Although she is yet to officially announce her willingness to run as the Commission’s president for the second time, Politico reports.

The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), which controls the largest faction in the European Parliament, has thrown its weight behind the German politician, as have Germany’s conservative parties.

French President Emmanuel Macron has yet to say publicly whether he backs von der Leyen for a second term, it was largely thanks to him that she got the job in the first place in 2019, and he may well back her again.

Von der Leyen would need to secure a simple majority in Parliament for being confirmed for a second term. She has been skilful in cultivating both the Greens and the Socialists and Democrats - the two other largest groups in Parliament - by offering them legislative wins such as the EU’s Green Deal.

As a result, their efforts to field a credible alternative to von der Leyen for the top job have been lacklustre at best, prompting some EU insiders to wonder whether there will even be a proper campaign for the most powerful role in the European bureaucracy.

Politico recalls that in 2019, too, she was chosen by EU leaders during closed-door talks in which they rejected the so-called Spitzenkandidat or "leading candidate" presented by EU conservatives - that choice was Manfred Weber - and in return gave the position to von der Leyen.

Once in power, von der Leyen chose to live in an apartment on the top floor of the Berlaymont building that houses the European Commission — rather than among the people in Brussels.

The rare glimpses into von der Leyen’s private life seem to only underscore the royal analogy. After her favourite pony, Dolly was savaged by a wolf near her country home in Burgdorf-Beinhorn in Germany, von der Leyen ordered the European Commission to reevaluate rules that protect wolves across the EU.

Her office denies taking any action over Dolly’s killing - but the wolf that killed her pony was put on a kill list in Germany. Monarchs have never looked kindly on poaching.

Last week, the leaders of the EPP and the German Christian Democratic Union both trumpeted their support for von der Leyen as Spitzenkandidat. By locking in support for von der Leyen early, they hope to avoid a repeat of 2019.

Yet in doing so, they also risk undermining the very notion of a campaign, as von der Leyen is far more powerful and well-known than virtually all potential rivals.