5 years ago no one knew her (outside Germany), and now she is the face of Europe. Ursula von der Leyen will almost certainly remain President of the European Commission for the next five years.
She belongs to the European People’s Party (to which the EPP also belongs), and the EPP elected her as chair of its candidate committee at a conference in March. The European People’s Party remained by far the most powerful group in the European Parliament. They won an additional 14 seats, and now have 190 of the 720 seats.
The 27 European heads of government must nominate the President of the Commission. The European People’s Party is also the most represented there, as it includes 11 prime ministers. The European People’s Party is demanding the position of European Commission President for Ursula von der Leyen.
The other two main political families, the Social Democrats and Liberals, seem to agree. They are looking for two more top jobs. With the support of the Socialists and Liberals, von der Leyen narrowly obtained a majority in the European Parliament. After being nominated by the European Council, she must also be elected to the European Parliament. The three factions combined have 406 seats, slightly more than the required number of 361 votes.
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