Von der Leyen in search of second term at European Commission helm

Ursula von der Leyen will announce that she plans to seek a second term as European Commission president at a meeting of the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) in Berlin on Monday.

The chief of the most powerful institution in Brussels, Von der Leyeen, 65, has carefully preserved her goals over the past year, avoiding all questions on the subject.

But announcing its candidacy for another five years will mark the first step in a four-month election battle that could include a broader field, with some speculation that Estonia's Prime Minister, Kaya Kallas, could be a candidate for the post in summer, when the final election will take place.

After being elected by the CDU, it must receive the support of two other parties within the European People's Party (PPE), the centre-right grouping in the European Parliament, which also includes the ruling parties in Greece, Ireland, Lithuania and Sweden.

Later, it must win a vote at the EPP congress in March, which will be held in Bucharest before facing the final hurdle in June, when the real trade of horses on key posts in Brussels begins, writes The Guardian, broadcasts Klankosova.tv.

According to process “Hospitalisation” (main candidate election), the European Commission president's election is linked to the results of the European Parliament elections scheduled for June 6th-9th.

But what will happen in June will be determined by the percentage of votes PEP is in charge after the elections. In 2019, The EPP won most of the seats and could expect their candidate, Manfred Weber, to be appointed to office. But he was unable to create interparty support with the Socialists, who came out second, presenting another high profile candidate, Frans Timmmermans.

The division created space for Von der Leyen, who was a surprise candidate from the German government. Remember, no one had heard about it in 2019, and the defence minister in Germany returned to the man he had in the most powerful job in Brussels within weeks”, a diplomat said, remembering that she did not even campaign for the task.

The role of the top diplomat, now held by Josep Borrell, is to be kidnapped, as well as by the head of the European Council, which facilitates relations between prime ministers and negotiates positions, often in complicated situations like the recent dispute with Hungary over Ukraine's financing.

After the elections in June, these positions will likely be divided between two other major political groups -- currently the Socialists and the Democrats (S&D) -- and the liberal group of deputies Renee.