European Union President Ursula von der Leyen has forged what is likely the strongest role for someone in her office in the EU’s history. That is perhaps why it’s increasingly possible she will not finish her second term of office.
Von der Leyen’s fingerprints are on almost everything the EU does. Trade negotiations with the United States. Forging an unprecedented EU programme to fund defence budgets for the member states. A comprehensive migration control package. The Green Deal. Any one of these initiatives would have been a lift for previous EU heads, but they are all part of Von der Leyen’s agenda.
This is where her political challenges begin to become manifest. A head of a member state’s government would only pursue such a broad set of policies if she headed a strong, solid governing party or coalition. Von Der Leyen increasingly does not have that staunch political backing.
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