ANDThe European People's Party (EPP) elected this Thursday by a large majority the current president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as the head of the list for the elections to the European Parliament and, therefore, a candidate to repeat as head of the Community Executive between 2024 and 2029.
Of the 499 votes cast (62.2% of the 801 delegates with the right to vote), 400 votes were in favor of the German, 89 against and ten were invalid votes; Therefore, among the votes cast correctly, 82% voted in favor of Von der Leyen.
We are united in our message and now is the time to go out there and convince people, win their hearts and minds.
“Thank you, friends. It is wonderful to have your trust and support, and to feel your determination,” Von der Leyen said after the vote result was announced.
“There are 90 days until election night. We are united in our message and now is the time to go out there and convince the people, win their hearts and minds. It will only be possible if we are a great team,” added the German conservative. .
The EPP closed its congress in Bucharest with the delivery of a bouquet of flowers to its brand new candidate, all its European leaders on stage and on the loudspeakers the anthem of the European Union, but also “Beautiful Day”, by U2, or ” Viva la Vida”, by Coldplay.
Turn to the right
Faced with this unrest and the rise of the extreme right in the polls, Von der Leyen made a shift in recent times to put climate issues in the background.
In another change of course, the EPP now advocates transferring asylum seekers to third countries in the face of migratory pressure, as stipulated in the manifesto adopted on the first day of the congress.
It is we, Europeans, who decide who comes to Europe and under what circumstances, and not organized trafficking networks.
“It is we, Europeans, who decide who comes to Europe and under what circumstances, and not organized networks of traffickers,” defended the community official.
“It seems that he is looking for votes to his right”noted analyst Thierry Chopin, and is closer to the far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with whom she traveled to kyiv for the two years of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Invested by the European Parliament with a narrow margin in 2019, “she knows that she must gather the maximum possible votes to ensure a majority” if she wants to be re-elected, this expert said.
The Socialists, the second group in the European Parliament, launched their campaign last weekend in Rome with the Luxembourger Nicolas Schmit as a candidate for the European Commission and warned of the risk of an “illiberal” wave at the polls.
EFE AND AFP
#Von #der #Leyen #conservative #list #elections #European #Parliament