European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faces an uphill struggle to retain her role as some politicians begin to look to Malta’s Roberta Metsola as a possible replacement.

With a week to go before von der Leyen’s future is voted on by the European Parliament, Berlaymont sources expect 15 per cent of her coalition MEPs to vote against her in the secret ballot.

While this number has guided her attempts to assemble a large enough coalition as a “red line”, the estimate may be optimistic as more politicians could choose to defect.

“The name on peoples’ lips as a possible replacement nominee is European Parliament President Roberta Metsola,” noted one of the likely defectors Billy Kelleher, an Ireland South MEP from Fianna Fáil  – and part of Renew Europe – who added that she would represent a generational change as she is 20 younger than von der Leyen.