In the State of the Union address: Von der Leyen makes no comment on his own future

class=”sc-29f61514-0 icZBHN”>

Instead, the German Christian Democrat focused her speech, which lasted just over an hour, on projects still planned for the coming months. This includes the fight against illegal migration and efforts to reduce the EU’s dependence on countries such as China.

Von der Leyen only made general comments about the upcoming elections. “In less than 300 days, Europeans will go to the polls in our unique and remarkable democracy,” she said. As with every election, this will be the moment “when people will reflect on the situation in our European Union – and what those who represent our fellow citizens have achieved.” It will also be the moment to decide the future and what European voters want.

As things stand, in order to remain at the helm of the European Commission for another five years, Von der Leyen would have to be nominated as the top candidate of the European EPP party family for the European elections. These include the German CDU and CSU, the Austrian ÖVP, the Italian Forza Italia and the Spanish conservative People’s Party PP.

So far, Von der Leyen has publicly avoided any questions about a possible second term. A possible reason is that the 64-year-old does not want to start the election campaign now, but wants to continue with important EU projects for a few more months. However, there is also speculation that the US government in particular would like to see her as Jens Stoltenberg’s successor as NATO Secretary General and that it wants to keep this option open. The Norwegian wants to finally resign from his position after the next major alliance summit in Washington in the summer of 2024. As a former defense minister, von der Leyen is considered a possible ideal candidate for the top job.

(SDA)

Source: Blick