Ursula von der Leyen's presidency has been very bad for Europe – Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a joint press conference with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on Monday. According to Szijjártó, this could be a political statement, but it is not, because it's what the facts demonstrate.
According to the head of Hungary's Foreign Ministry, during Von der Leyen's time in office, China overtook the European Union in terms of its share in the global GDP, and the strands of East-West cooperation were severed one by one. Szijjártó also said that under von der Leyen's leadership, the European Commission had put Poland and Hungary at a constant disadvantage compared to other member states. He added that this was something the President must not allow either for themselves or for the Commission.
The Prime Minister's Political Director, Balázs Orbán also complained about the EC leader on Monday, when speaking with Politico's weekly newsletter. According to him there is no guarantee that the Hungarian government would vote for Von der Leyen to be president again. While the German politician has not yet indicated whether she intends to run for the post again, some national leaders have already hinted that she would be welcome to continue.
When making the nomination, heads of state and government must take into account the outcome of the European parliamentary elections, and the next Commission President is then elected by MEPs – as discussed in our more detailed article on the subject.
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