European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen comfortably survived a vote of no confidence on Thursday, July 10, as an overwhelming number of European Union lawmakers rejected a censure motion against her.
The motion contained a mix of allegations against von der Leyen, including text messaging privately with the chief executive of vaccine maker Pfizer during the Covid-19 pandemic, misuse of EU funds and interference in elections in Germany and Romania.
But 360 lawmakers voted against it during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, with 175 in favor, and 18 chose to abstain. Von der Leyen wasn't present for the vote.
The vote has been a lightning rod for criticism of von der Leyen – who led the EU drive to find vaccines for around 450 million citizens during the pandemic – and her European People's Party (EPP), which is the largest political family in the assembly. They're accused of cozying up to the hard right to push through their agenda.
The EU parliament shifted perceptibly to the political right after Europe-wide elections a year ago. The second-biggest group, the Socialists and Democrats, has said that the censure motion was a result "of the EPP's irresponsibility and the double games."
During the debate on Monday, S&D leader Iratxe García Pérez said to the EPP: "Who do you want to govern with? Do you want to govern with those that want to destroy Europe, or those of us who fight every day to build it?"
The EPP has notably worked with the hard right to fix the agenda for hearing von der Leyen's new commissioners when they were questioned for their suitability for their posts last year, and to reject an ethics body meant to combat corruption .