German Christian Democrat Ursula von der Leyen was elected President of the European Commission for 5 years on Tuesday 16 July by a very narrow majority (383 votes ‘in favour’, 327 votes ‘against’, 22 abstentions, 1 nil vote) by MEPs meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg.
“In democracy, the majority is the majority”, she told the press, questioned about the consequences of this very weak majority. An absolute majority of 374 votes was required for her to be elected,...