Although the MEPs approved her for a second term at the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and her cabinet are in danger of falling. The cause is the disagreements between the two largest parties of the tripartite coalition in the European Parliament for the approval of two of the 6 vice presidents. The disagreements were not overcome even in the meeting between the leaders of the European People’s Party, the Social Democrats and the liberals of “Reneë Europe”.
Those who started the crisis were the social democrats, who opposed the proposal of the Italian nationalist Rafaele Fito, as vice president of the European Commission for Cohesion and reforms. Fito was proposed by von der Leyen to attract the support of the Fratelli d’Italia MEPs of the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a group to which Fito also belongs. Fito, however, is opposed by the social democrats, who demand his replacement because of his views, which according to them violate the European principles of human rights.
Meanwhile, the European People’s Party blocked the proposal of the Spanish socialist, Tereza Ribeira, who is accused by Spain’s right-wing opposition of responsibility in the catastrophic floods in Valencia as Minister for Ecological Transition. Analysts say the likelihood is that if Von der Leyen’s cabinet falls, the People’s Party will form a new coalition with the nationalists.
