Everything depends on this appearance:
Does the Leyen succeed in convincing the skeptical members of the European Parliament? It is a difficult tightrope walk, the CDU politician masters them with a mixture of personal and concessions to Parliament.
When Ursula von der Leyen joins the European Parliament's lectern at 9 am, she knows the significance of the moment. In the evening, she wants to be elected Commission President, but that is far from certain. Many MPs had given their anger over the past few days that Leyen was not the top candidate, but was nominated by the European Council. Now, the CDU politician, as on the day before, on the concerns of parliamentarians. And her speech sounds in the meantime as if it were specially made for the skeptics in the green and social democratic camp. As if she had to show that she is not a candidate by grace of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Von der Leyen, who just announced her resignation as Secretary of Defense yesterday, presents herself as a "passionate fighter" for Europe, as she says herself. Switching from immaculate French to German and English, she invokes European unity in the face of the challenges of climate change, demographic change and digitization. "If we are united inside, nobody will split us from the outside." Then she gives herself in person: as a mother of seven children, born in Brussels, first European, then German and Lower Saxon. In short: a European through and through - so the unmistakable message.
One of the key points she picked up right from the beginning and contributed to the Greens' success in the European elections is climate change. For the first 100 days in office, she announces, she wants "a green deal for Europe". A law should set the goal of achieving climate neutrality by the year 2050. Europe should become the first climate-neutral continent. It also cites the current milestone for Europe to reduce greenhouse gases by 40 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. These would have to be reduced by 50, if not 55 percent. That this is not easy, admits of the Leyen. But these goals also meant "that we have to change everything with us". Each sector will have to do its part. Emissions should have a price.
After that, she will parade through all the other important issues facing Europe: the big Internet companies would have to be taxed more heavily in Europe. It could not be that these made profits and paid no taxes. "If they want the benefits, then they have to participate in the burden."
Von der Leyen promises commitment "for the weakest"
Furthermore, von der Leyen is a champion of a social Europe. In a social market economy, the market would have to be merged with the social. And she points to her own record as a family minister, in which she introduced, among other things, the parental allowance. She wants to work "for the weakest". Every child must have access to the most basic rights, which will be an important part of their action plan. As a mother - and here again the seven children come into play - she knows that it makes a difference if they have access to education, food and a loving environment. And she calls for a minimum wage framework in Europe: "Every person working full-time should receive a minimum wage from which to live."