During yesterday’s debate between the top candidates for the various party groups in the EU Parliament, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen dropped a political bombshell.
She did not rule out the possibility of collaborating with the ECR party group after the EU elections. It is the group that includes the Sweden Democrats, together with Italy’s Brothers, the Polish party Law and Justice, and Spain’s Vox.
There were perhaps not that many Swedes who clicked through to Politico’s big EU debate in Maastricht on Tuesday evening. But those who did saw how the mood suddenly turned fierce.
“What?” exclaimed the green candidate when von der Leyen repeatedly refused to rule out a right-wing collaboration.
As a Tidö agreement at EU level
First things first, some key ingredients:
Ursula von der Leyen wants to continue as President of the European Commission.
The ECR party group is expected to grow significantly after the election and is likely to be dominated by the Brothers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni’s party.
Meloni and von der Leyen have a good working relationship.
Combine this, and you get a recipe for an EU sausage. A mix of German right-wing bratwurst and Italian post-fascist salsiccia.
From a Swedish perspective, the recipe is similar to the Tidöavtalet. Von der Leyen would take the support of the parties on the right to keep his job and have a majority in the European Parliament
Far from unproblematic
But stuffing EU sausages can also be a dangerous occupation. The parties in the ECR do not like two of von der Leyen’s biggest legislative successes: the EU migration pact and the climate pact. The Sweden Democratic EU Member of Parliament Charlie Weimers has said that both must be opened up as a prerequisite for cooperation.
And, if von der Leyen starts to cooperate with the right, she could lose her current partners – the European Social Democrats. They consider the ECR to be anti-EU right-wing populists and – in the case of representatives from Poland – anti-abortion.
Von der Leyen plays a high game. And before the sausage is stopped, all of Europe’s voters must also have their say. The future direction of Europe is at stake.