Ursula von der Leyen is courting the far right in a bid to secure a second term as president of the European Commission. History teaches us that this approach risks disaster.
Establishment Politics Above All Else
The shackles are off. With the far right surging in Europe and a small, potentially unreliable majority of MEPs favouring her reelection to the presidency of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen has resorted to courting the far right in a bid to secure a second term in the job. Yet risking the soul of European democracy wasn’t enough on its own. She had to do it with the most shameless irony – in this case, by lauding the ‘pro-European’ credentials of the far right’s darling, Giorgia Meloni.
Von der Leyen appears to have a unique idea as to what ‘pro-European’ entails. During an election debate in the European Parliament, she appeared to suggest that it simply meant being anti-Putin and ‘pro-rule of law’. Unfortunately for her, even this arbitrary definition doesn’t hold up. The formerly incumbent Law and Justice Party of Poland was very much anti-Putin. Yet it freely ignored EU laws designed to ensure judicial independence. Closer to home, Meloni’s Italy is expected to face criticism in the EU Commission’s annual investigation into the state of media freedom and judicial independence in member states. Pro-European Meloni and her far-right acolytes are not.
Not that this matters to von der Leyen. According to POLITICO, the European Commission has pushed this report back till mid-July – after the European Parliament votes on her reappointment. Four Commission officials have said that the delay was part of an effort to avoid open criticism of Italy. (A European Commission spokesperson has denied, without evidence, that Italy is receiving special treatment.) What matters, then, isn’t what’s good for Europe: it’s what’s good for von der Leyen and her colleagues in the European People’s Party (the centre-right grouping of the European Parliament).
A Ghastly Historical Precedent
In putting her party’s interests above those of a democratic Europe, von der Leyen is helping to nurture the conditions in which antidemocratic forces thrive. The demise of German democracy in 1932 shows us that this fear isn’t exaggerated. For what killed off the last democratic government of the Weimar Republic (the so-called ‘Grand Coalition’ that ruled from 1928–30)? A combination of a volatile political landscape, a terrible economic outlook and weak institutions. (Sound familiar?) Accordingly, Weimar democracy succumbed to presidential government by decree in 1930. From then on, conservative bigwigs such as President von Hindenburg, an ex-Prussian field marshal, decided what was ‘best’ for Germany. The democratic process lay dead in the dust.
Tragically, the mainstream left – in this case the SPD – didn’t raise a finger to save it. They were more fearful of another election in which the Nazis and Communists would eat into their support. That only a minority of the socialist grouping in the European Parliament currently plan to vote against von der Leyen, despite her open courting of the far right, is a chilling reminder of the left’s capacity for meekness.
With the democratic left and right silenced, Franz von Papen – an aristocrat who had called on Hindenburg to disallow the SPD and to accept tacit support from the Nazis instead – became Chancellor in mid-1932. To cement the Right’s position once and for all, he sought to unite centrist conservatives with the increasingly popular Nazis. He won the latter over by backing Hindenburg and Hitler’s agreement concerning new elections, an end to the ban on the SA and SS and the restoration of Nazi access to radio stations. But instead of a grand coalition of the right, Germany got a Nazi party buoyed by these astonishing concessions. It had no interest in working with its right-wing ‘allies’. Instead, it destroyed them as soon as it didn’t need them, just as it destroyed the left and centre too. Cue the European nightmare of 1933–45.
Playing with Fire
It’s hard to believe that the Melonis of Europe don’t also see the centre-right as a mere means to power. Von der Leyen might pretend otherwise, but Meloni is no friend to political viewpoints to the left of her own. She’s embraced far-right conspiracy theories such as the Great Replacement, excused the use of Nazi salutes by members of her party’s youth wing, launched baseless attacks against same-sex parenting and sued journalists who dare hold her government to account. Yes, some Christian Democrats in the mould of von der Leyen have also perpetuated some of these regressive standpoints. Yet it’s clear that they aren’t fundamental to Christian Democracy in the way that they are to the far right. There’s no doubt that von der Leyen knows this. But – and herein lies the irony – she wants to use Meloni’s support as a means to her reelection.
Who will win this race to power? History, and Europe’s slow drift towards authoritarianism, suggest it’ll be the far right. A section of Les Républicains in France, to name just one example, has already proposed cutting the cordon sanitaire, aware that their influence on France’s right is under threat. Remember, it’s von der Leyen who’s currently making concessions to Meloni – not the other way round. Meloni is a savvy political operator. She will respond to von der Leyen’s overtures only when she’s sure which choice will benefit her movement the most. After all, the president of the European Commission is the de facto face of the European Union – a European Union the far right wants to shape in its own image.
To a very small extent, von der Leyen’s manoeuvres are understandable. Italy is one of the founders of the EU and one of its largest economies. Failing to secure its representative’s support for her presidency wouldn’t look good for European unity. Yet if the EU is serious about its commitment to democracy, then its representatives must take on those figures who are trying to undermine it in their own countries.
Alas, like von Papen nearly a century ago, von der Leyen has chosen to play with fire instead. For personal and party-political interest she’s willing to cut deals with actors eager to undermine the democratic soul of Europe. Here, as in so many other cases, politicking trumps logic. But neither her nor her allies risk getting burnt: their privilege will serve as effective shields. Those facing the stake Meloni and her far-right acolytes are erecting for them are the vulnerable – refugees, the LGBTQ+ community, ethnic minorities – as well as academics, artists, journalists and whoever else dares to speak out in the name of truth and human dignity. History has condemned those who have enabled their persecution in the past. History shall do so again.