For those who still have doubts, Ursula von der Leyen has just demonstrated that she is a woman of power and that she knows how to play the balance of power. Reappointed by the 27 member states following the European elections of June 9, which saw her political family – the Christian Democrats of the European People's Party (EPP, center right) – claim victory, the Commission president now intends to assert her authority.
The new team, which will surround her for her second term of office starting on December 1 at the latest, and which she presented on Tuesday, September 17, attests to this. "We feel as if we're witnessing the beginning of Ursula Jupiter's reign," said Place Publique (center-left) MEP Raphaël Glucksmann. It has to be said that the context is favorable for her, if not for the European Union (EU) which is in full economic decline and facing two wars on its borders.
Between a France weakened by Emmanuel Macron's political difficulties and a Germany entangled in the dysfunctional coalition led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, von der Leyen has more space. Especially as she is not expected to stand for re-election in 2029, she no longer needs to secure the support of Paris, Berlin, Rome and the rest.
If the European Parliament approves the composition of the next college, there should be very few heavyweights to overshadow von der Leyen. As political scientist Alberto Alemanno said, she will be surrounded by "yes men," while the leading figures of her first mandate – the Dutchman Frans Timmermans and the Dane Margrethe Vestager – have all left the Community ship.
France's Thierry Breton should certainly have continued but the former German minister with whom he has an execrable relationship made Macron bend: If France wants a major portfolio, she told him in essence, it will be without the former Atos boss. The Elysée Palace sacrificed Breton, in favor of Macron loyalist Stéphane Séjourné, resigned foreign affairs minister, who, as von der Leyen confirmed on Tuesday, will be one of her six executive vice presidents, in charge of "prosperity and industrial strategy."
He will be in charge of the internal market and will oversee four commissioners responsible for trade (Slovakia's Maroš Šefčovič), research (Bulgaria's Ekaterina Zaharieva), economic affairs (Latvia's Valdis Dombrovskis) and financial services (Portugal's Maria Luís Albuquerque). But as the past has shown, in Brussels, a title is no guarantee of influence.
And there's nothing to suggest that Séjourné, who has a poor command of English and little knowledge of economic issues, will have any more power than Breton, who directly steered three strategic branches (internal market, digital and defense). He will also have to impose himself on the commissioners under his authority, three of whom are from the EPP, and who do not necessarily share the French vision when it comes to public finance or trade issues. He “is going to be eaten alive and French influence is going to pay the bill”, said Les Républicains (right) MEP Céline Imart. “The Commission's work program includes very French software,” said the Elysée Palace.
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