The EPP is presenting Ursula Von Der Leyen as a candidate for the next European Commission. So it wants to burn her candidacy

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has decided to run for a second term as head of the European Commission. “Today I am making a conscious and thoughtful decision: I want to run for a second term,” she said at the end of the meeting of the Federal Council of the German Democratic Party in Berlin, adding that “we have to defend ourselves against internal and external divisions. I am certain that we have the strength to do so, and this is the task I have set for myself.”

The federal executive committee of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) unanimously nominated the current president of the European Commission as a “Spitzenkandidat” (candidate to lead the next Commission) ahead of the European elections in June. CDU leader Friedrich Merz announced the decision during a joint press conference with the Commission president. Formally, the EPP, led by German leader Manfred Weber, will then vote on the final decision during one of their meetings.

Ostensibly, the move is a victory for the current candidate, who, being pushed by the strongest component of the EPP, the German component, apparently has a chance of being confirmed. In reality, this is a bit like the kiss of death.

Recall that the EPP in 2019 nominated Manfred Weber as a stainless aspirant for the chairmanship of the commission and, before the election, vowed to defend him to the death. So during the negotiations, faced with the obvious vetoes of the other components of the majority, who could not accept an unagreed candidate, they had to shelve him and choose Von Der Leyen. It was not a good choice.

The fact that she has now been nominated by the German component of the EPP makes her nothing more than a pawn to be burned at the next negotiations, which will be held between the summer and fall of 2024.