'The arrogance of power!' Ursula Von der Leyen warned she risks LOSING election

'The arrogance of power!' Ursula Von der Leyen warned she risks LOSING election

WATCH: EU unveils migration pact

GB NEWS
Millie Cooke

By Millie Cooke


Published: 15/04/2024

- 11:53

One EU official warned the Commission President 'mistakenly thought she could get away with everything'

Ursula von der Leyen has been warned she isn't guaranteed a second term in office, with EU officials warning her "mistakes are being used against her".

While Von der Leyen is the frontrunner to win the EU elections this summer, some officials have argued that her political errors are catching up with her.


Speaking to Politico, one official said: "A big part of it is the arrogance of power.

"She mistakenly thought she could get away with everything. So some smaller mistakes are now being used against her."

Von der Leyen

One EU official warned the Commission President "mistakenly thought she could get away with everything"

PA

Meanwhile, Alberto Alemanno, a professor of law at HEC business school in Paris, warned: "Von der Leyen’s periodic missteps, from Pfizergate to her trip to Israel, are taking on new meaning as we get closer to the election. They acquire a pattern."

He added: "What this boils down to is that we are moving away from TINA – there is no alternative – to a situation which is more fluid, and where we are essentially opening Pandora’s box".

Another EU diplomat said: "She should not take it for granted."


In February, Von der Leyen announced her plan to run for a second term as European Commission President following months of speculation.

The European Commission President made the announcement at an event held by her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Party in Berlin.

She is expected to run her campaign on a platform of increased defence spending for the EU, unveiling plans to "install a commissioner for defence" if she wins a second term.

Von der Leyen

Von der Leyen is the frontrunner to win the EU elections this summer, some officials have argued that her political errors are catching up with her

PA

Last week, the EU Parliament voted to pass a landmark migration control pact, which the bloc's leaders have said will let them "regain control" of its borders and crack down economic immigration.

But Von der Leyen faced opposition from both Poland and Hungary, who voted to reject the legislation.

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said the pact is "another nail in the coffin of the European Union".

“Unity is dead, secure borders are no more. Hungary will never give in to the mass migration frenzy", he warned.

Meanwhile, Donald Tusk, who became a pro-EU Prime Minister of Poland last year, warned he would find ways to exempt Poland from a mechanism that relocates migrants from front-line countries like Greece and Italy, or otherwise obliges them to pay.

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