From the beginning of the Trump administration, Brussels-based officials have been struck by the new president’s complete lack of desire to deal with them. When they have finally met – such as when Vice President JD Vance met with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and others – EU officials were so thrown off with the America First rhetoric that they could only wrap their heads around it by denying that Trump and Vance really meant what they said.

But part of the reason why the Trump administration – and, I suspect, other governments around the world – may be holding back on taking EU leadership seriously is because its hard to tell who is actually in charge of the bloc.

Now that her internal combatant, Charles Michel, is out of commission (pardon the pun), Ursula von der Leyen is clearly trying to make a play for being the “sole” leader of the European Union. But her background (a failed German defence minister) and a less-than-spectacular first term (her greatest achievements domestically was mandating the USB-C charger and the passage of the Green New Deal, much of which she is now trying to unwind) make it hard for her to claim the mantle of leadership. Plus, the nature of her position – “President of the European Commission” – is also hard for foreigners not steeped in EU parlance to grasp. Being in charge of an EU institution without being in charge of the EU itself makes her seem like a glorified clerk, not the leader.