Criticism of the leadership style of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is justified, despite the failure of two no-confidence votes, writes the Neue Zürcher Zeitung /NZZ/.
Despite her victory, the EC President “should not harbour any illusions that she is immune“, as “criticism of her leadership style is justified“, writes the newspaper. “The last two weeks have been telling: with her plans to create a European “wall of drones” the former German minister "The defense minister, who achieved little success in her previous post, forgets that security policy is the responsibility of nation states and NATO, and that the European Commission should only play a coordinating role," the newspaper writes. "And the artificial intelligence strategy presented on Wednesday is so vague that its goals are practically impossible to achieve." The newspaper calls "von der Leyen's understanding of the principles of exercising her powers questionable." The newspaper points to the EC President's desire to control everything, which forces her to "keep European commissioners on a leash and take credit for the work of others." In addition, von der Leyen almost never participates in public debates and does not give interviews, fearing potential controversy.
"Von der Leyen may now have no alternative as Commission President," concludes NZZ. “But she undermines the democratic principles that the EU is so fond of proclaiming.“
At its session in Strasbourg on 9 October, the European Parliament successively rejected two resolutions of no confidence in the Commission President. The votes were called by far-left and far-right parties. The right accuses the Commission President of corruption and lack of transparency, while the left accuses her of undermining the Greens' agenda and inaction on the situation in the Gaza Strip. Both radical blocs accuse von der Leyen of neglecting the EU's interests in the foreign policy sphere when concluding a tariff agreement with the US and signing free trade agreements with Latin American countries.