On June 27, a consensus was reached between the leaders of the EU member states on the nominations for the EU’s top jobs. Two of them were Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, to succeed Josep Borrell as head of EU’s diplomacy, and Ursula von der Leyen, who will likely succeed herself as President of the EU Commission. However, her nomination, like that of Kallas, is subject to confirmation on July 18 at 11 a.m. by a secret ballot requiring an absolute majority of 361 MEPs. Both Kallas and von der Leyen represent nothing but the “war party” and the military-financial complex driving the world towards confrontation, including nuclear confrontation.
However, the European elections have reduced the number of MEPs who would unhesitatingly endorse these candidates. Now, Politico reports that the election will be extremely close. So much so that von der Leyen, “instead of facing the heat of the NATO summit in Washington, spent her week in the European Parliament trying to get enough votes for a second term. Things still look very tight, and Ursula von der Leyen and her right-hand man Björn Seibert are meeting with as many delegations and legislators as possible to try and secure the necessary 361 votes in Strasbourg next week.”
Officially, von der Leyen seems to be able to count on the votes of the centrist pro-EU coalition comprising the EPP, the Socialists and Democrats of Europe (S&D), and the liberals of Renew Europe. Altogether, these parties have 400 seats. However, as the ballot is a secret ballot, it is impossible to say with any certainty that all the MEPs in these groups will vote for her. The EPP is forecasting 15% potential loss of votes, including even within her own political family, whereas she can’t afford to lose 10%. German industry, with the imposition of cataclysmic energy choices, is on the brink of asphyxiation.
