She's done it! Ursula von der Leyen is officially the European Commission’s first female president, after a confirmation campaign she described as 'the most intense two weeks of my political life.'
Von der Leyen had the declared backing of the three mainstream, pro-EU groups — the center-right European People's Party, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats , and the centrist-liberal Renew Europe group.
The tight margin of von der Leyen's victory suggested that she may have needed the help of some other parties, including Italy's populist 5Star Movement, which is not affiliated with any group in the Parliament. In a sign of how thin and fragile her mandate appeared, she also immediately faced questions about the possibility that her majority, which included the support of some British MEPs, would effectively evaporate in the event that the U.K. completes its departure from the EU.
Aside from the divided European Parliament and her narrow margin of victory, von der Leyen will also be trailed to Brussels by an investigation, still underway in the German parliament, overAt a news conference with Sassoli after leaving the hemicycle, von der Leyen thanked her transition team and said she planned to spend her summer in Brussels preparing for her new job.
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