Ursula Von der Leyen, former defense minister of Germany has overcome all odds to become the first woman EU commission President. This is after the 60 year old emerged victorious in a fierce contested election by a narrow margin after vowing to address climate change. Von der Leyen managed to secure a majority win in the Strasbourg-based assembly by just nine votes during the secret ballot voting that took place on Tuesday. She now replaces Jean-Claude Juncker who was serving as the president of the European Commission.
In a brief speech after clinching the top EU position, Von der Leyen said “The trust you placed in me is confidence you placed in Europe. Your confidence in a united and strong Europe, from east to west, from south to north. It is a big responsibility and my work starts now.” Von der Leyen’s quest to become the first woman EU commission president gained ground on Tuesday after Europe’s liberal block announced they were going to support her in the Tuesday election.
- How Europe’s Liberal Block Changed Things
Speaking before the elections, Dacian Ciolos, the head of Renew Europe said “My group will support Ms. von der Leyen today. We are looking forward to work intensively with her to move Europe forward. There is a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s renew Europe together.” The decision by Europe’s Liberal block brought von der Leyen closer to meeting the required 374 votes. In the end, she managed to clinch the seat with 383 votes although this was quite lower than her predecessor who managed to get 422 votes.
- What Her Victory Means
The win by von der Leyen is expected to avert a summer of institutional infighting. However, with her narrow win, her position may end up being weakened even before she gets into office in November as the first female leader. Since European leaders chosevon der Leyen as the nominee in a tense three day summit, she had less than two weeks to make her case. However, during the D-day, she was gladly received by skeptical MEPs after trying to reassure them of her environmental credentials. She had also told them about her plan to build a five-year program.
While speaking to the MEPs, von der Leyen said, “I will put forward a green deal for Europe in my first 100 days in office. I will put forward the first ever European climate law which will set the 2050 target in law.” Despite her promise receiving applause from the majority, the Green leaders said it did not have the expected specifics. On the road to her win, von der Leyen received backing from the center-right European People’s Party, Social Democrats and the liberal Renew Europe. However, she did not receive backing from the Green and far-left leaders.
Until she takes office in November, von der Leyen will try her level best to make sure she achieves her goals. This will mean proving herself to those who did not appoint her if she is to stand a chance.