Voting in favor of von der Leyen, as her group will do, “doesn’t mean everything is fine,” Hayer said. “Because since the first motion of censure last July, we can’t say we’ve really made any progress.”
11. The Greens are not part of the von der Leyen club
VDL’s EPP is weakening Europe because it’s vacillating on “which side of the political spectrum they stand on,” Greens co-leader Terry Reintke said.
The Greens have plenty of complaints, from the “late reaction” to suffering in Gaza to the scrapping of climate initiatives. But they won’t vote against her, Reintke said, because “do we really, in this crucial moment, want an institutional crisis?”
12. The ECR is on the fence
The right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists are no real fans of von der Leyen but they don’t particularly agree with some of her critics either.
That will all add up to some of the group backing her in the confidence vote, and some not. That happened in July, too, when the Brothers of Italy party backed von der Leyen, while the Polish ECR delegation voted to remove her.
“In the ECR, every national delegation will be free to vote according to its conscience and in the interest of its people,” said leader Nicola Procaccini.