Ursula von der Leyen will begin her campaign for a second term as European Commission president on Monday, seeking five more years at the top of the EU’s executive with a campaign of increased defence spending, improved business competitiveness and green policies.
The former German defence minister, who was an unfancied choice to head the commission when selected in 2019, has steered the EU through the coronavirus pandemic and the outbreak of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, forcing through overhauls of the bloc’s health, economic, energy and security policies.
Her centre-right European People’s party (EPP) leads the polls ahead of June’s European parliament elections, a forecast that if translated into results would give it the right to propose its lead candidate as the head of the next commission. If she wins the support of EU leaders, von der Leyen would then need to gain a majority of members of the new parliament in order to take office.