With its collection of councils, clubs and commissions, the EU is like an unruly family, but Ursula von der Leyen is a good mom, writes Andreas Kluth
With its collection of councils, clubs and commissions, the EU is like an unruly family, but Ursula von der Leyen is a good momEuropean Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Picture: REUTERS/YVES HERMAN
She stretched that point into an extended metaphor. A mother of seven, she has almost super-humanly balanced her career and her sprawling, often unruly family. The EU is like such a family, she told me. It’s not a nation, and therefore won’t ever have one “leader”, but it shares a common destiny, even if it’s always at risk of being pulled apart. That’s why it needs a uniter. A mom, basically.
She can only announce such visions, however, not execute them. That’s because she has a surprisingly fluid role, one that’s badly understood outside of Brussels. The commission is often called the EU’s executive. But it’s less like a government and more like a civil service that also participates in ambassadorial rites.
First, there’s the European parliament, which Von der Leyen got off to a bad start with because of the way she got her job. She was chosen by EU leaders in several rounds of back-room horse trading after French President Emmanuel Macron dropped her name. Parliament was so miffed at being sidelined, it confirmed Von der Leyen only by a nail-biting nine votes, then rejected three candidates for her commission, delaying its inauguration by a month.
Underneath such rivalries hums a constant din of general bickering — within the parliament, among national leaders, and between the institutions. The cast ranges from bone-dry eurocrats to wanton gadflies and flamboyant prima donnas. The relationship currently being watched is that between the “Jupiterian” Macron and the matter-of-fact pastor’s daughter Merkel. Brussels really is like an unruly family.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
EU lays down some ground rules for post-Brexit dealsThe lead EU official has three goals — framed as ‘new year’s resolutions’ — for the upcoming talks on the future relationship
Read more »
IN PICTURES: New Year fireworks as decade begins with a bangBillions around the world cheered in 2020.
Read more »
Ntokozo Mbambo: I will reward myself more this yearMuch-loved Mzansi gospel guru Ntokozo Mbambo is confident in her own skin but wants to be kinder to herself this year.
Read more »
Ntokozo Mbambo: I will reward myself more this yearMuch-loved Mzansi gospel guru Ntokozo Mbambo is confident in her own skin but wants to be kinder to herself this year.
Read more »
'This is the year to be fearless,' says Miss Universe Zozibini TunziAs the world ushered in a new decade on Wednesday, Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi has dubbed this the year of “disrupting toxic status quo, shaking tables and being fearless”.
Read more »
'This is the year to be fearless,' says Miss Universe Zozibini TunziThe beauty queen says 2020 is the year to break the 'toxic status quo'
Read more »