Ursula Von der Leyen’s ‘political games’ risk muddying her attempt to get five more years in office
Suggestions of cronyism are swirling round Ursula von der Leyen – and it has come at a foul time for the European Commission chief.
Questions are being requested over her appointment of the EU Commission’s new envoy for small and medium-sized enterprises, Markus Pieper.
The German lawmaker’s appointment to the outstanding EU job has been criticised by MEPs and officers, who’ve recommended there was a scarcity of transparency in the hiring course of.
MEPs from inexperienced, centrist and left-wing events have recommended the lawmaker, who belongs to Von der Leyen’s EPP occasion, was appointed primarily based on his occasion affiliation slightly than on skilled advantage.
A written query from the MEPs, led by Green MEP Daniel Freund, to the Commission, says Pieper’s appointment “raises questions about the transparency of the process and the Commission president’s influence on the latter”.
The letter, signed by MEPs from the Greens, Renew, the S&D and The Left, additionally raises worrying questions on whether or not Von der Leyen neglected appropriate feminine candidates in order to favour Pieper.
It factors to reviews suggesting that “female candidates, from Member States, under-represented in senior posts, scored better in the three-stage recruitment procedure.”
They have demanded the Commission hand over proof to clarify his appointment, asking what extra {qualifications} Markus Pieper had to put him forward of the opposite contestants and trigger the Commission to disregard different concerns corresponding to gender and geographical stability.
They additionally demanded to know whether or not occasion affiliation performed a “decisive role in his appointment.”
Questions over cronyism aren’t ideally suited for any politician. But it comes at a very unhealthy time for Von der Leyen – simply months out from the EU elections and only a matter of days after she introduced plans to run for a second time period.
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Von der Leyen is eager to dispel any perceptions of overreach or illegitimacy in her authorities, having taken the axe to something that smacks of overreach by Brussels forward of saying her reelection bid.
The notion that the Commission fingers out jobs to folks primarily based on aff could not do her favours in her mission to distance herself from this picture.
But if she will persuade people who the appointment was authentic, it might nicely do the alternative.
Some MEPs have seen the transfer as an attempt to improve German affect throughout the European Commission and safe help for Von der Leyen’s election bid below the Christian Democrat Union banner. Speaking to EU outlet Euractiv, one MEP dubbed the transfer a “political game”.
Notably, the appointment got here simply three weeks earlier than the CDU introduced its help for Von der Leyen’s second time period, nominating her as their lead candidate.
Some suspicions are swirling that the appointment could have been a part of a device to safe CDU help for the incumbent Commission President.
If Von der Leyen can shake rumours of cronyism, the appointment could have been a win for her. But if she fails to persuade folks it really was a politically impartial determination, it could nicely serve to muddy her re-election marketing campaign at a vital second for the EU chief.
