French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a joint press conference.
Photo: EFE – FILIP SINGER
Ursula von der Leyen is beginning to move her chips to secure a new mandate as president of the European Commission, after elections were held on Sunday to renew the Parliament, based in Brussels, which for the next five years will be marked by the strength that the extreme right took. This was demonstrated by the victory of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party, Brothers of Italy, but also that of the National Rally, in France, which led President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve Parliament and call early elections for the end of this month. , as well as the defeat of the German Olaf Scholz’s match.
Although Von der Leyen’s political family, the European People’s Party, maintained the dominance it has had for 25 years, winning 186 of the 720 seats, the leader will have to carry out negotiations with the extremes, whether with the right or with the left, raising concerns about how willing she would be to the idea of creating alliances with Eurosceptic groups, such as the one Meloni represents, or whether she would choose to approach the pro-European Greens, although they fell to sixth position after The elections. So far, the German politician has said that her interest is to work with groups that are “pro-European, pro-Ukraine and in favor of the rule of law.”
Aymeric Durez, professor of international relations at the Javeriana University, recognizes that the extreme right gained importance in the European Parliament, but not in the way expected. Furthermore, he emphasizes that it lacks unity, as it is divided into two groups: “Its influence will be limited. However, they will try to mobilize on the migration issue, which is the main point of convergence between them, with the idea of reducing flows to the European continent.” Rafael Piñeros, a professor of international relations at the Externado University of Colombia, agrees with this, and predicts that the strength of the extreme right would prompt stronger responses not only with migration, but also against the war between kyiv and Moscow.
Von der Leyen’s speech, appealing to the fact that the center forces will be key in the next legislature, since they are “resisting”, seeks, according to the teacher, to affirm her legitimacy in the eyes of those who could elect her for a second term within the Commission. However, the winks that she has had with Meloni, after she opened the door to possible alliances during the campaign, sow doubts in some of her. In fact, Ildiko Szegedy-Maszak, director of the master’s degree in economic law at the Javeriana University, dares to say that “a union with Eurosceptics would be fatal for the project and the European institutions,” as is the Frenchwoman Marine Le Pen. , who has said that the current functioning of the European Union is undemocratic and that many in his country oppose the model under which the European community currently functions.
Now, at least for Szegedy-Maszak, the big loser in all this seems to be Macron, with his determination to call early elections, “as it is a decision to avoid even worse results for his party.” Durez, for his part, believes that the dissolution of the National Assembly brings with it the risk of provoking cohabitation with the extreme right: “If the National Rally obtains the absolute majority (289 seats) in the legislative elections, Macron will have to appoint the president of the party, Jordan Bardella, as prime minister, who could form a government. “This being the case, the president would mainly stay with certain sectors reserved for the president, such as foreign policy.”
According to the professor, the call for early elections responds more to a sudden decision, which puts the results of the European elections in the background, allowing Macron to dramatize the elections around a duel with the extreme right, at times when he does not It enjoys a lot of popularity. At the same time, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, did not come out well in the European Union elections either, after the setback that his coalition suffered on Sunday. According to Durez, “the weakening of these two leaders can affect the capabilities to lead the European bloc.”
