It will be five more years for Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission, after the European Parliament approved her today.
She managed by a margin of 41 votes.
Had it not been for the Greens’ 53 votes, it might not have passed.
In other words, a new EU coalition has emerged: conservatives, liberals, social democrats and greens. And the far-right parties are still kept out of power.
When the Swedish members came out of the plenary hall in the parliament in Strasbourg, it was the happiest of faces.
The moderates’ Tomas Tobé said that Europe is now getting “strong leadership.” Heléne Fritzon from the Social Democrats was satisfied that “extreme right-wing and pro-Russian parties” are kept out of power, and Karin Karlsbro from the Liberals called von der Leyen “the right woman in the right place.”
The green ones – happiest of all
But the happiest of all seemed to be Alice Bah Kuhnke from the Green Party. And that is perhaps not so strange. Without the Green votes, von der Leyen probably would not have won a majority, something she now has to remember for the next five years.
A ban on the sale of combustion engines in 2035 will probably remain – despite strong criticism from, among others, the German liberals – who voted against von der Leyen. And in the negotiations, the Greens demanded better protection for seas and lakes: a so-called “Blue New Deal.” Something that von der Leyen will probably now start working on.
“We managed our pound well,” said Bah Kuhnke.
Meloni has to wait another five years
But, from the right comes criticism. Charlie Weimers from the Sweden Democrats said that Europe will now get a “climate policy that threatens jobs and prosperity.”
For a long time it was said that Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s far-right prime minister, would become the most important player in the EU. She sits in the same party group as the Sweden Democrats, part of a growing extreme right within the EU. Many believed that von der Leyen would be forced to seek her support and compromise with the right instead of the Greens.
That was not the case. Meloni gained marginal influence. Her party voted against von der Leyen. It made no difference – a majority was there anyway.
The Italian leader will have to wait another five years to become Queen of Europe.