Ursula von der Leyen has long been seen as the favourite to win this year's EU elections, a sentiment that was widely held, even before she officially announced her bid to run for re-election.
But there is one group that could threaten her campaign.
European liberal forces are gearing up for a battle with the incumbent EU President, preparing to launch their campaign on an anti-Von der Leyen platform.
The Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament will meet tomorrow to launch their electoral campaign, against a backdrop of struggling approval ratings.
Ursula von der Leyen has long been seen as the favourite to win this year's EU elections
PA
The coalition finds itself in a paradoxical position. Despite gearing up to centre their campaign around opposition to Von der Leyen, the group may well find itself forced into a coalition with her European People's Party and the Social Democrats.
The liberals, which found themselves acting as kingmaker in the last legislature, are expected to be pivotal in forming a centrist majority.
But during the campaign, the rhetoric is expected to be far from friendly.
Liberal opposition to Von der Leyen is varied and perhaps reflects her amorphous position on the political spectrum.
For example, speaking at a national congress in January, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann - lead candidate for the biggest liberal European party, ALDE - said: "Less von der Leyen, more freedom. That must be the message in the coming months".
Meanwhile, the German liberal FDP is expected to attack Von der Leyen for what they describe as "bureaucratic madness".
They also have previously attacked the EU Commission President for her record as a conservative, with the party’s general secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai accusing her of being a Green politician in disguise.
The Czech liberal party ANO is taking a similar line, with MEP Ondřej Knotek telling Euractiv that Von der Leyen must backtrack on key sections of her Green Deal in order to "restore Europe’s competitiveness".
Italian liberal party Italia Viva has joined the swathe of liberal parties declaring their opposition to Von der Leyen. Speaking at a rally in Florence earlier this month, party leader Matteo Renzi warned: "It is on the Green Deal that we see the real failure of Ursula von der Leyen (…) If I am elected to the European Parliament, I will propose to vote against her and to identify a leader and not a follower of ideology".
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But in addition to criticising her record as a conservative, liberals have also taken issue with her links to far-right parties in Europe.
She has openly expressed a willingness to collaborate with the nationalist ECR group in the European Parliament, in addition to having publicly cosied up to Italy's leader Giorgia Meloni - a move somewhat seen to be symbolic of her increasing appeal to the right wing.
Renew President Valérie Hayer is likely to oppose any type of collaboration with the ECR. While European Democratic Party leader Sandro Gozi has accused Von der Leyen of "chasing Meloni".
He told Euractiv: "Ursula von der Leyen has been ambiguous about the extreme right, we Eurodems do not make political alliances with ECR. She seems to be chasing Meloni (…) we are somewhere else."
While the liberals themselves aren't in the strongest electoral position, having been knocked by growing support for right-wing parties, there is a risk that their anti-Von der Leyen campaign could draw attention to shortcomings in her campaign. If their messaging is strong enough - it could put a dampener on her position as the favourite to win.
