Von der Leyen Needs 361 Votes - Good Luck With That

In 2019, Ursula von der Leyen only secured her job as European Commission president by a razor-thin majority in the European Parliament: nine votes.

This year, the numbers game required to secure a second term from a potentially way more hostile European Parliament after the June 6-9 EU election looks even tougher. There is a very real chance the German conservative just won’t get the votes.

In order to win another stint running the EU from the 13th floor of the commission’s Berlaymont headquarters in Brussels, von der Leyen needs to overcome two major political hurdles.

First, she needs to win support from a qualified majority of the 27 EU leaders around the European Council table during a post-election meeting in late June. Second, she must secure at least 361 votes from 720 Members of European Parliament to confirm the leaders’ choice during a subsequent, secret vote in Parliament.