European Parliament members from Italy's Lega party did not support the candidacy of Ursula von der Leyen for the post of European Commission president because she offered nothing new and wants to keep policies that were bad for Italy in place,
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2019) European Parliament members from Italy's Lega party did not support the candidacy of Ursula von der Leyen for the post of European Commission president because she offered nothing new and wants to keep policies that were bad for Italy in place, Marco Zanni, a Lega party member and chairman of the European Parliament's Identity and Democracy political group, told Sputnik.
On Tuesday, the European Parliament approved Germany's former Defense Minister von der Leyen as the new president of the European Commission in a 383-327 vote. To be approved, she needed to secure the backing of 374 parliament members.
"For us of the League it was impossible to support Von der Leyen for a number of reasons, ranging from the program to the merits of some issues that were addressed yesterday by the candidate during her speech at the plenary [session] in Strasbourg. We do not give our consent to those who want to re-propose the recipes used in Brussels by the previous executives. They have already produced very bad results and dramatic consequences for the lives of Italian citizens. How could we associate with those who intend to leave Europe where it was?" Zanni said.
In her address to the European Parliament, von der Leyen promised a "green deal for Europe," more representation of women as well as put forward an idea of ending EU member states' veto on foreign policy and moving to a qualified majority voting instead, among other issues.
Gilles Lebreton, a member of the European Parliament from France's National Rally party and member of the Identity and Democracy Group, told Sputnik, on his part, that von der Leyen was "weakened from the outset by this low score" she got following the vote on her candidacy in the European Parliament.
"Many of those who voted for her did so reluctantly because she said everything and the opposite during her hearings before the parliamentary groups. This confirms that it will be much more difficult to find majorities in the current legislature than under the previous one. We are determined to take advantage of it," he stressed.
Von der Leyen is set to take office on November 1, replacing incumbent European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.
