Ursula von der Leyen has announced she will seek a second term as president of the European Commission and head of Brussels’ most powerful institution.
At a meeting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Berlin on Monday, the 65-year-old von der Leyen confirmed her candidacy for another five years in the post, the first step in a four-month election battle that could involve a wider range of candidates.
Some have speculated that Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas could be a candidate for the post in the summer when the final choice is made.
For the moment, however, all eyes are on “VDL,” as she has come to be known around the world. Ursula von der Leyen said:
“I am taking a very conscious and well-considered decision. I would like to run for a second term in office and I am very grateful to the CDU for nominating me as the top candidate for the EPP today.”
Asked about her commitment to environmental policy, which aides said was at the heart of her first mandate, she said that while it was “impossible to meet all expectations” as commission president, it was “important for me to get the forces of the centre on my side and convince them”.
Von der Leyen said she would be “better prepared” than in 2019, when she was a compromise candidate with a slim majority in favour.
Announcing von der Leyen’s nomination as the CDU candidate, Friedrich Merz, the party’s leader, said she had been nominated “unanimously” and that he would work to ensure her selection was also unanimous in the centre-right grouping of political parties in the European Parliament, the EPP.
Once elected, von der Leyen’s CDU must secure the support of the other two parties in the EPP, which also includes the ruling parties of Greece, Ireland, Lithuania and Sweden.
