Ursula von der Leyen came out on the attack when she appeared before MEPs on Monday.
Their debate on the European Commission president’s leadership threw up tons of fascinating insights into the current state of EU politics.
It was merely the amuse-bouche before a vote of confidence on Thursday (even though she’ll almost certainly survive that because her centrist opponents say they’ll back her.)
Von der Leyen spoke first, before heads of political groups took the floor. Here are some things we noticed.
1. Von der Leyen’s coalition is in disarray
In fact, at this point we are even doubting whether to keep calling it a coalition. (It’s never been formal, of course, simply the group of centrist parties that supported her and keep her afloat.)
As the debate went on, she got slap after slap from Socialists, Greens, and the liberals of Renew.
Between them they didn’t like her decision to drive a deregulation agenda targeting last term’s Green Deal, criticized the way she bypasses the Parliament to pass measures such as billions of euros in loans for defense spending, and as Socialists chief Iratxe García put it, “for looking the other way” when her own center-right European People’s Party does deals with the far-right.
2. She’s not afraid of dishing out low blows to critics
Von der Leyen didn’t stop at picking apart her opponent’s arguments. She came with knives out: Calling out fake news, talking about “the oldest playbook of extremists” and branding her critics “conspiracists,” “anti-vaxxers” and “Putin apologists.”
3. In fact, she’s partial to showing a bit of sass
Occasions are few when you get to see the 66-year-old politician really attack her political opponents.
But this time was different. Cornered by the Parliament’s fury, she came out all guns blazing. It was the initiator of the motion of no confidence, right-wing MEP Gheorghe Piperea, she labeled an “extremist.”
“There is a choice here,” she said. “We can follow Mr. Piperea down his world of conspiracies and alleged sinister plots by what he calls ‘Brussels,’ or we can clearly call this out for what it is ― another crude attempt to drive a wedge between our institutions, between the pro-European, prodemocratic forces in this house.”
4. She’s still not really in the mood to reveal ‘Pfizergate’ secrets
While she devoted more minutes to the defense of the text message exchange with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla than she’s ever done in public before, and more than most observers expected, there was less substance than on first appearance.
She basically just stuck to the Commission’s previous line, without giving any additional information on what was actually included within the texts ― which we still may never get to see.
You can read all about the Pfizergate issue here.
5. But she clearly doesn’t think ‘Pfizergate’ has any shade of gray
Any accusation that national governments didn’t know about the vaccine contracts the Commission was negotiating, or how much they would cost, was “dishonest,” she said.
“In fact, let us call it by its name – it is simply a lie.”
6. Socialists and liberals are seizing the chance to assert themselves
“He who laughs last, laughs longest” may have been in the heads of Socialist and liberal lawmakers. While both factions feel sidelined and humiliated since last summer’s EU election, they saw in this debate an opportunity to reassert their power, showing the EPP it needs them to govern Europe ― because they think rightward forces, which supported the motion, are not reliable.
“If you betray us again, be clear that social democracy will lead the resistance against your drift,” said S&D chief Iratxe García, who, despite the harsh words, said her group would not support the no-confidence motion.Over and over, the EPP has counted on far-right support in the Parliament to set the agenda, kill reports, or pass through measures, with the helpless Socialists and liberals unable to stop it.
7. There’s nothing worse than a friend who feels disappointed in you
“We ask you clearly: Who are your allies in this Parliament? Your real allies?” Valérie Hayer, of liberal Renew, asked von der Leyen.
“You are witnessing the impasse that you and your political family are facing, by having allowed the EPP to favor alliances of convenience with the far right.”
8. Even the centrists are wobbling on VDL
The discontent among the Socialists is so ripe that the German delegation is considering abstaining during the vote on Thursday.
“We will decide on Wednesday but it is an option,” the German delegation chief, René Repasi, told POLITICO.
9. Maybe the only real victor in all this was Putin
The division in the European Parliament must have been music to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ears. Both von der Leyen and the EPP’s chief Manfred Weber argued the motion of no confidence was an attempt by far-right forces to destabilize the EU.
“Putin will like what his friends are doing here,” Weber said, branding the far-right parties Romanian AUR and Alternative for Germany — both signatories of the motion — “Putin’s puppets.”
Von der Leyen said, “we see the alarming threat from extremist parties who want to polarize our societies with disinformation,” and there is ample proof “that many are supported by our enemies and by their puppet masters in Russia or elsewhere.”
10. There was some ever-so-subtle misogyny coming out of the Kremlin
Before the debate, former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called von der Leyen an “evil gynecologist” and “toxic old woman.”
Never one to cross a line on tiptoe when he can take a massive leap over it, Medvedev, the current deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said the Commission president had “annoyed everyone,” claiming that she was “dishonest” and had committed “fraud” in the purchasing of Pfizer vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
11. The EU’s right-wing camp is divided
The co-chair of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists group, Nicola Procaccini, took to the podium to lash out at his own political family, especially against the Polish and Romanian delegations, which promoted the motion of censure.
The wedge shows how the EPP’s strategy to bring parts of the ECR, namely Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, into the Brussels mainstream fold by giving them posts of power and including them in negotiations, has worked.
Procaccini signaled he though he motion to censure von der Leyen is a strategic blunder.
The vote would only serve allow Greens and socialists to reassert the “Ursula majority,” just as a “center-right majority” was making headway, he said.
He argued the current Commission is the most right-wing in history, with an executive vice president belonging to the ECR faction, and that the right-wing camp is achieving major victories in the fields of deregulation and migration.
Predicting that the motion would fail, Procaccini added, “unfortunately some people like to lose, both at home and here” — an apparent reference to the loss of AUR leader George Simion in Romania’s presidential election.
12. Farage is but a distant memory
Brexit definitely did mean Brexit, at least if Weber’s not-too-subtle blast at the British style of debate had anything to go by.
“We are the oldest group in this house, we respect its political culture,” the EPP leader said. “The European Parliament is not Westminster!”
13. Some things never change (see also: points 4, 6, 9 above)
There can be much ado when it looks like one EU institution is trying to throw the legitimacy of another under the bus.
But at the end of the day, the debate was classic EU fare: lawmakers trotted out their usual lists of grievances, von der Leyen was the lady not for turning, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who chaired the debate, had to plea with rowdy MEPs to please shut up.
Eh bon. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. See you on Thursday.Mari Eccles contributed reporting.
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